Faith in Nothing
by Devabbi
Summary: Everything is pointing to a happy ending for Inuyasha and Kagome, but he can't handle a demon and leaves Kagome for her safety, and the safety of their daughter. Five years later, Sesshomaru saves the day. SessKag - ON HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1

So not my first Inuyasha fanfiction, however this is my first SessKag. I've always been a SessKag shipper, especially for the authors who can manage to pull it off realistically (which is kind of hard...). My inspiration? I recently read two really good SessKags, the first called Property by Ethidda and the second called Atonement by Miss Kagura. Both are incredibly recommended.

Umbrella Disclaimer: This is the only one you'll see for the entire story. If you're thinking that I totally own Inuyasha and all related subjects and items, you're completely delusional. I wish I was that delusional. Seriously. If I owned Inuyasha, I would be filthy stinking rich and I wouldn't even be on . So yeah, I don't own it. At all. Not even a share in the gigantic corporation that I'm sure surrounds Rumiko Takahashi's creations. Nada.

* * *

Inuyasha scowled and wiped the sweat from his brow, and looked around to his companions. He was exhausted, and if he was, he was completely sure that the humans he traveled with were ready to faint. Tetsusaiga dragged behind him as he slowly walked back to Kagome. She had purified the evil hanyou with just one good shot, after almost a day of fighting countless puppets and hordes. As soon as they had seen him, Inuyasha had jumped into battle like a mad man, forcing her to wait for a clear shot. He glanced down at his mangled left hand. He supposed that was what he got for rushing into things.

She stood as though she couldn't believe what she had done, staring forward with a blank expression on her face. She had to be just as tired as Miroku and Sango, who had collapsed in a heap against Kirara and fell asleep almost immediately. He hefted his sword and sheathed it, and put his arms around Kagome. She seemed to acknowledge him then, turning her face towards his hair and closing her eyes. They were still for a long moment, and Inuyasha wondered if she was going to fall.

Instead, she pushed away from him and marched purposefully towards the corpse of Naraku. As she passed a detached tentacle, she kicked it hard. He couldn't feel pain, but it sure made her feel better. She sought out every shard that she could see. He hadn't kept the Shikon no Tama whole within him, but had split it up into pieces all over his body, which made it impossible for them to just knock it out and kill him. Each shard was still tainted, regardless of Naraku's smoking ruin. She worked to purify each one, and it slowly drained her power, but she completed her task and completed the jewel within an hour or so.

Staring at it and sizing up her accomplishment, she pulled its old chain out from one of her pockets and reattached it. She smiled and held it up for Inuyasha to see. "It's finished!" she yelled excitedly, and turned towards him. He was on the ground, asleep. She frowned and rolled her eyes, and dropped her hand. She checked on Miroku, Sango, and Kirara. Suddenly, she sensed a new demon in the area and she looked sharply at the trees. Sesshomaru stood there, staring at her. She touched the bow on her back, knowing that she probably wouldn't get to it and shoot before he could knock her off her feet. She just hoped she wouldn't have to. She moved protectively towards the sleeping hanyou.

However, Sesshomaru just watched her for a moment before simply nodding his head and walking away. As he walked away, she saw that his dragon, Jakken, and Rin were following him. Rin giggled and ran to give Kagome a hug. She grinned and hugged her back, exchanging quick pleasantries. Sesshomaru barked her name and she ran off, waving happily. It was hard to understand how such a stoic demon could make such an animated child so happy. She just shook her head and put the Shikon no Tama around her neck and lay down against Inuyasha with a smile.

* * *

Once they had all recovered from their exhaustion, they traveled straight back to the village near the well. Kagome ran to Kaede to show her the completed jewel. Kaede smiled and said, "Congratulations, Kagome-kun. What do you plan to do now?" she asked musingly, holding the jewel and marveling at how pure it appeared. It wasn't even pink anymore, it was white.

Kagome smiled and shrugged her shoulders and accepted the jewel back. "I'm going to give it to Inuyasha," she whispered conspiratorially.

Frowning, Kaede asked, "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

She nodded. "He's grown and changed, Kaede-sama. I think that he'll make the right wish with it and it will disappear. I don't want it to hurt anyone anymore." She smiled at the jewel and then at Kaede.

"Well," she said decisively, "you are its keeper and it is your decision. I just hope that you know what you're doing." She smiled at the young girl, and then asked, "What about after that, Kagome? What do you plan to do once he has made his wish?"

Biting her lip, Kagome looked at the ground and refastened the jewel as something to stall her answer. Finally, she said, "I don't know." She smiled lightly and told Kaede, "I kind of like not knowing. Makes everything spontaneous... I can just hope for the best." She laughed, and turned away. "I'm going to go and find Inuyasha."

Kaede sighed. In four years, the young, naive girl had changed everyone around her for the better, and had blossomed into a beautiful young woman. She could see the desire in Inuyasha's eyes, and hoped with every fiber left in her frail body that Inuyasha would make the right choice, simply for Kagome's sake.

* * *

"I knew I'd find you here," Kagome said, grinning as she snuck up on Inuyasha. He was in the Goshinboku tree and his guard was down as he stared at the dark outline of his body on the trunk of the tree. She put her hands on her hips as she looked up at him mischievously. "Do I have to make you come down here, or will you do it yourself?" she asked.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and dropped to the ground. Kagome smiled and stepped forward, wrapping her arms around him. She felt as though, now the jewel was finished, she could do this freely. She rubbed her cheek against the rough fabric of the fire-rat haori and enjoyed the feeling of being held by the one man she could claim she loved. In her ear, he whispered, "What are you going to do?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not sure... What do you want to do?" She looked up at him and her lips tilted upward invitingly. Inuyasha stared at her for a moment before giving her a slow, long, exploring kiss that she accepted and returned with fervor. He made her feel as though she had fire in her veins as they rolled in the grass together under the Goshinboku tree.

Laying there afterward with him, Kagome played with his hair and his ears as he laid his head down over her heart and closed his eyes. Her other arm held him close and she reveled in the close, warm feeling.

It was shattered as he said quietly, "I want the jewel, Kagome."


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks guys. : The review, 134 hits, 4 alerts, and 1 favorite really made my day. So, to thank you even more, and show how much it's appreciated, here's a chapter :D

I update quick when motivated.

* * *

Kagome couldn't say no. He took advantage of that fact and he took the jewel immediately into his hands and stared at it. The full wishing power was now within his grasp. He looked past it to the still-naked Kagome. She lay on his haori, warm and inviting and waiting patiently, albeit worriedly. He scowled and looked at his left hand. He was missing half of two fingers and the rest of the other two, and his thumb hurt when it moved still, even after two weeks since the initial injury. He sighed and closed his eyes, and made his wish. The jewel swirled dark colors, but the light seemed to fight the dark about who would win, what the real intention was of the wish. It was mixed.

Slowly, Kagome reached for her clothing. She watched the jewel's swirling colors and gaped as she saw his ears begin to recede into his hair and markings began to appear on his forehead, cheeks, wrists, and probably elsewhere that she couldn't see yet. His mangled left hand reformed in front of her eyes as he held it up and grinned at the power he felt. She swallowed so hard that she could hear herself, and her hands were shaking. "How could you..." she began. Inuyasha looked at her suddenly with such anger and malice in his gaze that her blood ran cold. She hadn't removed the Subjugation Beads, and though she had thought about it earlier, there was no way she would do that now. She swallowed hard again and pulled the top of his haori over her shoulders.

Inuyasha's hand slowly closed over the still-swirling, indecisive jewel. He squeezed hard and crushed it into shards again, and dropped them. Kagome surged forward, but he lunged at her and pressed her hard into the ground, every bone that was near the ground screaming in pain from being crushed against the dirt. "Say it, Kagome," he commanded, his clawed hands slowly tightening around her forearms.

She knew exactly what he meant. He wanted her to sit him and crush herself, but she shook her head stubbornly. His claws pricked her skin. She shook with the effort it took her not to scream or fight. "I don't want to hurt you, Inuyasha," she said softly. "But if you draw any more blood on me, I'll have to do something. You don't want to kill me."

Before she knew it, she was flying through the air at the Goshinboku. She turned in the air to try and catch her fall on the area that would hurt the least, and wound up using her shoulder to take most of the impact. She groaned as she fell to the ground against the roots. She pushed herself up with her better hand and looked at Inuyasha as he screamed at her, "You don't know what I want!" He lashed out with a blind rage and hit the well hard. It collapsed on itself and the weight of his action seemed to phase him for a moment.

"Sit," she growled. He slammed into the ground, and it only seemed to make him angrier. As soon as he began to get back up, she said it again, and kept repeating herself until she retrieved her bow and arrow. She said it mechanically, ignoring the rage-filled threats and screams of the hanyou-turned-demon and knelt with a knee between his shoulder-blades, pointing the arrow at the base of his neck. "Sit," she said again, just to be sure. "I'm not going to be as nice as Kikyou was, Inuyasha. If you don't stop right now, I'm going to kill you. I'll feel bad about it, but I'm not going to let you loose on other people." Her voice was even, calm. Her emotions would not get in the way of helping other people. "I love you, Inuyasha, but --" He started tossing upward, and she said again, "Sit!"

She sighed. "Make a decision, Inuyasha," she gently commanded.

He could feel the purifying power in the arrow at his neck. His demon side had taken over gleefully, and he could feel its anger at being threatened by such a small woman. The beads were what did it, but he knew that they couldn't be removed by anyone but the woman on his back. He was confused and he shut his eyes tightly. It wasn't supposed to be like this. He was supposed to be strong and in-control, not witless and angry. He couldn't control this. He stopped trying to get up, long after her last order had stopped weighing down on his neck. "Kagome," he managed to force out, past all of the growls and angry words. "I can't..." His body bucked again against his will and the tip of the arrow seared a small wound in his neck, and he forced his body back down with every bit of will power he had. "Help me," he said brokenly.

Somewhat relieved, Kagome softly said, "Sit," again. She frowned and wondered how to go about this. She couldn't have him conscious, he was obviously struggling for control against his new demon rage. He had asked for help, so she couldn't kill him either. She sighed and told him quietly, "This will hurt."

"I know," he bit out. It had happened to him before, he knew what it felt like. Kagome's power surged and overwhelmed his youki, making his eyes roll back. He slipped into the quiet bliss of unconsciousness and went limp.

Now that he was unconscious, Kagome threw the bow to one side and collapsed against his back. She sobbed and grasped his shoulders tightly and cried between his shoulder blades. She felt him stirring again and she let her power swell again, knowing that it hurt him but that it had to be done. She had to do the same thing only once more before he seemed to fall into an actual sleep. She finished her crying and wiped at her eyes. She retrieved her clothes and dressed herself, always glancing at Inuyasha's prone form on the ground.

She crouched in front of the shards on the ground and sighed. After she had just spent four years retrieving all of these shards, purifying them and putting them back together, here they lay in ruin again. She lifted one hand and hovered it over the ground, pulling the shards out of the grass and reforming the jewel again. Inuyasha had hoped to destroy it so that he couldn't be wished back to hanyou form, but it was still whole. The swirling colors inside of the jewel ceased immediately as she held it in her palm. It wasn't such a vibrant shade of white-pink as it had been, now a few shades darker. Kagome didn't fail to notice, and she glared at the demon as the source of her tainting.

"So you did allow him to wish on the jewel."

Kagome jumped. She had been so focused on the jewel and Inuyasha's staying unconscious that she hadn't even noticed as Sesshomaru approached. Rin was poking curiously at Inuyasha. Sesshomaru only had to speak her name once, emotionless, to make her stop. She stood up straight and clutched the jewel. "I did," she confirmed. There was no use denying the obvious.

Sesshomaru looked at her and some shadow of a frown appeared on his face. "You also allowed him to rut you." There was a slight tone of disapproval in his voice, more so than usual. He had always had higher expectations of the miko than of the rest of the pack she decided to travel with, though he wasn't sure why.

She sighed. He was a demon, she knew that he could smell it. Again, there was no use denying the obvious, so she just nodded her head. "What are you here for?" she asked tiredly, not feeling quite up to another fight with a demon today.

Staring at her, he deigned to respond. "I felt my brother," he said simply, as if it explained everything, and it did. "I wanted to see its truth."

"Well, there it is," she said, pointing at Inuyasha as she retrieved her bow. She didn't see Sesshomaru as an immediate threat, but having her bow in her hand made her feel less nervous to be around the taiyoukai. He was suddenly beside Inuyasha's still form, and Kagome found an arrow in her hand almost immediately. "Don't you touch him," she said viciously. Holding the bow taut made her shoulder stiffen and hurt, but she ignored it.

He turned his head and looked at her, examining the arrow and the bow and her aim and wondering if he could dodge it. He decided not and nodded his head, agreeing not to touch his brother. "Idiot," he said flatly. He had wished for something that he couldn't handle, and he knew it. Without saying anything else, or even looking at the miko aiming an arrow at him, he turned and left. As he walked away, Kagome absentmindedly wondered where Rin was. She dropped her aim and looked at Inuyasha again, and frowned.

Thinking hard, Kagome sat against the Goshinboku. She wasn't sure what she was going to do. What could she do? She could wish him back to normal, but that would be selfish... regardless of the fact that wishing him back to normal could possibly save a lot of lives. She sighed and put her head against the tree, her thoughts whirling back to the few nights that she had been around Inuyasha when he was human and he had confessed things to her that he never would have said on any other day. How Sesshomaru had mistreated him...

Finally deciding on a reason for all of her misfortune, she growled, "This is all your fault, Sesshomaru," angrily.

"I am most interested in hearing about the line of reasoning that brought you to this conclusion."

She jumped and glared behind her at Sesshomaru. He had snuck up on her for the second time that day. She felt vulnerable and she shivered. "Inuyasha told me about the horrible things you did when he was a child... Even before his parents died, how you tormented him, and afterward, when you left an eight-year-old boy to defend himself in a world that hated him." She glared up at Sesshomaru. "If only you had been a proper brother, maybe he wouldn't feel the need to be a full demon. None of this would have happened." She folded her arms over her chest, convinced that she was right.

"Would you really rather that none of this ever happened?" Sesshomaru asked curiously. The venom in her voice didn't suit her normally cheerful disposition.

Scowling and wrestling with the decision, Kagome finally shook her head. "I guess not... You still could have been a better brother," she admonished, and frowned at him.

Inuyasha lunged at his brother without warning, but Sesshomaru simply deflected him with one hand, sending him into a nearby tree. He fell to the ground and didn't move again. He studied the new markings on his brother, and the studious absence of his irritating ears. "This does not make you full-blooded, Inuyasha," he said quietly, so that only the other dog demon could hear. "You will always be a worthless halfbreed to me." Again, he left. Kagome kept her senses on-guard so that she could feel if Sesshomaru came back, but he never did.


	3. Chapter 3

So I'm on a cruise ship on the Meditterannean Sea right now. No, I'm not kidding. It's my graduation present from my grandma, she's paying for pretty much everything. It's kind of fun, though I'm exhausted from TWO flights... five hours from LA to NYC, and eight hours from NYC to Barcelona, Spain. We left at 9:30 AM in California, and arrived in Barcelona at 9:30 AM the next day (you do the math, time differences are WEIRD)... Then we got on the boat around 12, and weren't allowed to get to our rooms until 1, and I hadn't slept on the plane at all. So I'm exhausted. I'm also lucky that I uploaded these chapters beforehand, since I have to use their computer, not mine, and it's 30 cents a minute. Feel flattered that I'm using it on you guys :P I'd better have reviews when I use my 15 minutes tomorrow!

* * *

Inuyasha woke up in chains. The feeling wasn't completely unfamiliar to him, as he had been chained up many times as a child. It stirred up the rage inside of him and he surged forward, pulling against the chains. They burned his skin and he stopped, falling backwards against the stone and wanting to know where he was. He observed his surroundings with a flat, angry stare, and finally came to the conclusion that he didn't know where he was. It was pitch black inside the room and even with demon sight, he couldn't see a damn thing.

"About time you woke up," Kagome said from the door of the dungeon. With more light, he saw that he was in someone's basement. He growled at her. "Don't growl at me, Inuyasha, I'm the only reason that you're still alive," she said calmly. He seemed to think about it for a moment before he stopped growling. "Thank you. I brought you some food. You've been unconscious for a day, so I'm pretty sure that you're hungry, right?" He made a passive grunt. "It's ramen."

That seemed to catch his attention. He sat down on the ground and stared at her expectantly. She knelt in front of him and offered him a spoonful of the ramen. He chewed and swallowed mechanically and opened his mouth again, just watching her. He finished most of the bowl that way.

As she offered him another bite, she asked, "Are you going to speak to me?" She frowned and looked downward at her lap.

His voice came out gravelly, quieter than usual and somehow menacing when he didn't seem to want it to be. "I love you," he said, as if it were some kind of offering.

"Love doesn't seem to matter to you, Inuyasha," she said quietly. "If you knew how much I loved you, you'd know that I don't anymore."

He lashed out against the chains but she seemed to know that he couldn't reach her from where she was sitting. Serenely, she looked up at him and smiled. "You changed, Inuyasha. I loved the hanyou you **were**, not the demon you are." Inuyasha didn't react. "You _destroyed_ the well." He still didn't react. "You _threw me_ against _a tree_. **Me**, Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha cringed as a shadow of his old self showed through. He looked down and away from her in shame. "I'm sorry," he said quietly, and his voice sounded normal.

As she watched him for a moment or two, Kagome cautiously reached out a hand and caressed his cheek, drawing a fingernail gently down each marking with worry. "What have you done to yourself?" she murmured.

His eyes flashed and he turned his head to the side and nuzzled her wrist, his lip curling lightly like a cat's when it took in a scent. He kissed her wrist and the palm of her hand and took one of her fingers gently between his teeth. His tongue flicked the pad of her finger and he gave her a heavy, meaningful look coupled with a low, quiet growl.

Kagome didn't know why she let him out of the chains that held him. She didn't know why she let him take her again. She didn't know why she had let herself fall asleep in the comfort of his arms. She didn't know why she didn't wake up when he left.

* * *

_Nine months later_...

"This isn't right," Miroku repeated.

Sango growled at him, if it were possible for a human to growl. "Shut up and help me, Miroku!" she snapped. Kagome screamed again in pain, holding her swollen belly.

He glanced back with a look of painful disappointment. "This isn't right. He should be here. His instincts would have told him that it was now. He should be here."

Again, Sango yelled, "Miroku!"

"He's not coming," Kagome snapped. "I've waited for nine months for him to come back, and he's not coming!"

Miroku stared at the poor girl. Her heart was breaking as she gave birth to the baby. He wondered if she would take it out on her, or if she would shower her with all of the rest that was left. He dropped the mat in the doorway and turned to help the two women.

* * *

It was five years before she saw either taiyoukai brother again. With the well broken, Kagome couldn't go back home. As Inuyasha left her pregnant, Kagome couldn't continue being much of a priestess. Her child was proof that she was tainted by a demon, proof that she was no longer completely pure. Atsuko became her life. The child was born as a hanyou, which proved that her father had gotten her pregnant on purpose, according to Miroku. She always stubbornly held out hope that he might return, but she never heard of or from him. It was disheartening, but at least the child looked mostly like her. Black hair and blue eyes, but her hair only made the silver ears on the top of her head more obvious.

While the little girl matched her appearance, she would sometimes look at her mother in such a disgruntled, mischievous way that it reminded her incredibly of Inuyasha. She sighed and hugged her knees. Kouga had come by a few times in the five years, firstly to congratulate the entire group on defeating Naraku at last. By then, her pregnancy hadn't been showing, but it didn't matter. He could smell it. He took pity on her and sent gifts often, and came to visit whenever he had the convenient time. A few times, he brought his son with him, and he would play carefully with Atsuko in the yard while their parents talked on the porch. As Kagome and Kouga had both matured, he had realized that pining after Kagome was useless and had settled into a comfortable friendship with her instead. He had his own mate now.

Kaede died and Kagome took over as the priestess of the village. The villagers loved her, regardless of her tainted power, and didn't complain about the change. They mourned the loss of the gentle Kaede, but passionate Kagome was somewhat refreshing. Miroku and Sango both stayed in the village and raised their own family, but Sango didn't understand Kagome anymore, and they grew apart. Miroku understood Kagome's hurt more than Sango did, and he visited as often as Kouga did. The more vicious and gossiping young people in the village thought that perhaps Kagome was offering services other than that of a miko, which was incredibly untrue.

Atsuko was four when she came sprinting back to the hut at the edge of the village. Kagome was sorting through herbs; tying them into bundles and laying them out to dry in the afternoon sun. Atsuko ran into her from the side, knocking her off-balance. She had gained a lot of agility with her age, and she caught herself with a hand immediately set to her side on the porch floor. "Atsuko, what's wrong?" The little girl babbled on for a moment before Kagome grabbed her by the chin. She was crying and scared, and had come from the forest. Picking up the girl and taking her inside, Kagome retrieved her bow and quiver and told Atsuko to stay in her room until she was called.

"Mama," she called before Kagome shut the door. Kagome looked back at her expectantly. "He looks like Daddy." Shippo had grown into somewhat of an artist and had made a portrait of Inuyasha from memory for Kagome. She kept it tucked underneath her futon for the sad days when she longed for him, and to show Atsuko when she asked.

Taking only a moment to make a decision about what she would do with this information, Kagome nodded her head and then added as an afterthought, "Don't call him that." She shut the door behind her daughter and left the hut, moving towards the trees with bow and arrow in hand.

Rin burst from the trees first, swinging a necklace of flowers from one hand. Kagome stopped dead in her tracks, unsure of the last time that she had seen the girl. Naraku's death, come to think of it. Her eyes narrowed. She lowered her arrow, convinced that the... fourteen? Fifteen?-year-old Rin wouldn't hurt her, or even try. Indeed, the girl instead dropped the flowers and ran at Kagome, arms wide in demand of a hug. Kagome looked past the girl to see Sesshomaru coming tranquilly through the trees, with no Jaken or Ah-Un. It was odd to see them alone, and somehow wrong now that Rin was older and her body had begun to mature.

She hugged the girl all the same, and smiled and asked how she was. Sesshomaru caught up and Kagome's face darkened slightly. His eyes were on the hut. She touched the end of the bow behind her to reassure herself. She wouldn't even need it, if he went after the girl. She'd seen her own incredible speed when it came to Atsuko's safety. "Why are you here?" she asked, finally breaking the silence. Even Rin hadn't been speaking, as if sensing some dire need of quiet.

"Rin is of marrying age," Sesshomaru said shortly. "I can no longer keep her, as she only serves as a distraction." He glanced at Rin, and the bright smile on her face told Kagome that he had told the girl a very different reason.

Kagome folded her arms. "So you expect me to take her?" she asked curiously.

He seemed to shrug. "It would be convenient." She stared hard at him, matching his blank look with a very flat stare. He looked away first, proving that he was either bored or intimidated, neither of which he wanted to admit. "Where is my brother?"

Sesshomaru seemed to feel Kagome's aura flare angrily at his mention. "I don't know and I don't care, but if you see him, tell him to stay the fuck away from me," she said viciously. Rin had covered her ears, staring at Kagome with wide eyes.

One perfectly-shaped eyebrow raised in amusement or surprise. She couldn't tell which. He gave Rin a soft nudge towards the hut, and she took the hint and skipped away. "I take it that he left you alone with the pup?" he asked softly, sounding more sensitive than she had ever imagined him before.

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously and looked at his arm to make sure that Inuyasha wasn't posing as his brother. She shook her head at the ridiculous idea, and she replied to Sesshomaru, "Yeah, the very same night. I think he did it on purpose."

"You hate him," he said. It wasn't a question, it was a statement of what he found to be true. She just shrugged. He frowned and turned toward the hut. "I would appreciate it if you could house Rin and perhaps find her a husband of some sort... She deserves a normal life. I would accommodate you financially, of course, and give any other support you believe you would need." Kagome looked at Rin and thought about it. Extra money sounded good, as did the help around the house, and companionship that wasn't through a four-year-old.

She nodded her head. "Alright, but on one condition," she said, pointing a finger at him.

Nodding, he replied, "Name it."

Kagome stepped closer to him, and she felt his youki flare in slight alarm. She only quieted her voice and told him, "You've become like a father to Rin. You have to promise that you'll come and visit, at least once every season. She'll be happier for it." Her eyes narrowed at him, threatening if he decided against the arrangement.

"That sounds fair," he agreed. He looked at her curiously for a moment, and then said, "I would very much like to meet my niece."

She decided that it didn't sound too horrible. "Alright, but she _is_ a halfbreed. If you lay a hand on her, you will be dead. Am I understood?" She looked at him, and nothing about her countenance except for her voice was threatening.

Quietly, Sesshomaru admitted, "You are the only human whose threat I will take seriously." He nodded at her, and followed her to the hut, where Rin sat, waiting on the porch. Kagome could hear Atsuko crying again.

Sighing, she told Sesshomaru, "I'll calm her down before I bring her outside." For some reason, she didn't want Sesshomaru inside her home. It would seem too natural, too close, too... normal. She went into Atsuko's room and stroked her daughter's hair, talking to her quietly and intently. "Atsuko, it's not Inuyasha, it's his brother. He wants to meet you, and he's brought you a sister to play with."

Atsuko looked at her with round eyes and asked, "Didn't Daddy's brother hate him for being a hanyou?" she asked. Kagome made a mental note to kill Miroku for telling her daughter her father's life story.

"Yes, but he won't hurt you," she said firmly. "I won't let him." She nuzzled her daughter's hair and she gave her a little squeeze. Finally, the little girl agreed and allowed her mother to lead her out of the room, but only if she held her hand. Kagome put her hands on the girl's shoulders and told Sesshomaru, "This is your niece, Atsuko. Atsuko, this is your uncle Sesshomaru."

As she had been taught, Atsuko extended one small hand towards Sesshomaru and said politely, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Uncle Sesshomaru." Her manners and the fact that she didn't appear afraid of the demon made Kagome smile proudly.

Sesshomaru surprised Kagome by crouching to Atsuko's level and studying her face as he shook her tiny hand, knowing very well that he could cripple her for life if he squeezed hard enough. "The pleasure is mine, little one," he said, and Kagome could have sworn that there was a warm note in his voice. Had Sesshomaru grown a soft spot for children? He straightened, gazing around at the hut and then looked Kagome in the eyes. "This is unacceptable for a woman of your status and one with taiyoukai blood," he said decisively. "You will come with me to live in the Western Lands, to live as you should."

* * *

Why Kagome is a ball-busting bitch: Because she's not 15 anymore. She's 24, she's a mother, and she's been betrayed by the only man she's ever loved. That'd make anyone a bitch.

Why Sesshomaru is being nice: Because he's spent time around Rin, a child, and has learned to appreciate the little things because of her. He's learned to regret his past mistakes and is now trying to make up for them. Perhaps his father had a hand in it as well, but that's something for later.


	4. Chapter 4

So they're charging me thirty cents a minute to be online on the ship. It's incredibly lame, but Italy is fecking awesome! I wish everyone in the world could come here and see how beautiful everything is. Even the graffiti is pretty (and it's everywhere too...). Next chapter, yay! Last one until Sunday, since I won't be getting home until late Saturday night and I don't even think I've written the fifth yet, let alone uploaded it. Sorry :D

* * *

"I can't," she replied flatly.

Sesshomaru turned around as if surprised that she would refuse his offer. "I insist," he said incredulously.

She shook her head. "No," she said firmly, "I can't. I'm the priestess of this village. I can't leave them defenseless. If you'd really like to improve our quality of life, you'd find Inuyasha and kill him."

Atsuko jumped at her mother's words and looked up at her, aghast. "Why would you want to kill Daddy?" she wailed.

Knowing that she couldn't yell at the four-year-old for a very innocent question, Kagome sighed. "I don't, Atsuko. I would rather that he was dead rather than willingly staying away. I'm angry at him, Atsuko. I don't want him dead." She ran her hand over her daughter's head. "Go inside." Atsuko obeyed without question, for once, but her eyes were filled with tears. Kagome felt her heart sink and her head begin to ache at the coming conversation between her and her daughter. She returned her attention to Sesshomaru.

"Four years is a very long time to be angry," Sesshomaru said.

Kagome snapped, "Don't change the subject." She folded her arms and looked at Sesshomaru disdainfully. "Besides, weren't you mad at Inuyasha for a hundred and fifty years, weren't you?" Sesshomaru looked away. She sighed and shook her head. "Regardless, I can't leave." Sesshomaru opened his mouth to suggest something, but, having a hunch about what he was going to say, she cut him off and added, "and Atsuko isn't going anywhere without me." She was very stubborn about this decision, and Sesshomaru could see that.

He sighed and shook his head. "I cannot let you live here like this, miko."

"Call me by my name," she demanded.

Glancing skyward and reflecting on how much she sounded like his own mother, Sesshomaru bit out, "Kagome." Continuing, he said, "It would go against my honor to allow blood to do so."

Her eyes narrowed. "You allowed your brother to live worse than this," she spat. "Why is this different?" She put her hands on her hips.

Sesshomaru looked at her and answered very flatly, "Because, mi-... Kagome. You have not only proven yourself strong, capable, and worthy of my respect. You are the only human in the world that I would fear if angered. Inuyasha is a selfish, worthless halfbreed."

"Be careful with your words, Sesshomaru. My daughter is a halfbreed." Her voice went low and dangerous, like a growling youkai.

He gave a small, exasperated sigh. "You misunderstand me. My brother had a faulty upbringing that caused him to be shallow, power-hungry, stupid, and rash. Your daughter will not have the same, as I will not allow that to happen. She will not be stupid or rash, or worthless." He had a conviction in his voice that was foreign, but Kagome immediately trusted it. She only questioned his motives.

Thinking hard, she suddenly asked, "Why?"

He hated admitting to mistakes. Admitting them to women was worse. Admitting them to human women was even worse... Admitting them to his brother's human bitch was the worst. His head tilted downward slightly and he frowned before he said, "I... regret my actions with Inuyasha. Time with a child has changed my views. I feel as though I am being given a second chance to be involved, to redeem myself."

Kagome laughed, simply because it was something that she had never thought he would get even close to saying. "Are you sure that you're yourself?" she asked jokingly, and jabbed him in the stomach with a finger.

Grabbing hold of her wrist was easy, but holding on was hard. His flesh seared angrily at being forced to hold onto nearly-pure miko power, and it was even worse as she focused and aimed it at him. "I am myself, miko," he growled, as if she were threatening his very essence. He let go and didn't glance at his blackened hand.

She inspected her wrist and found a bruise. She scowled. "Great, just great... How am I going to explain this to Miroku? Or Kouga?"

"The wolf comes around here?" Sesshomaru asked, and he suddenly sounded protective and alarmed.

Looking at him curiously, she replied, "He comes around to keep me busy sometimes. Don't worry, he's mated and has a bunch of kids, he's not looking for anything more." She patted his shoulder lightly, and sat on the porch. "What are we going to do?" she asked, seeking clarification.

Sesshomaru looked at her as if he was just as confused as she was. "I am unsure," he admitted. "I... I would like to find Inuyasha for you, if that is what you believe you need."

She shrugged. "Maybe. I'd like to tear his balls off myself though, if that's at all possible." The sweet smile that she gave Sesshomaru after finishing her sentence made him think that he was simply hearing things, but he knew she was capable of hate. All humans were, even mikos. "Even if you do, don't bring him back here. I don't want him to see Atsuko, and I don't want her to see him." She spread her hands wide as if backing up her decision.

He looked slightly puzzled. "Why wouldn't you like a daughter to meet her father?" he asked curiously.

"Because," she explained patiently. She was used to it, from a four-year-old... "If I manage to keep Inuyasha out of the spotlight as 'daddy dearest', there's a chance that I could replace him."

Snorting, Sesshomaru asked, "With who?"

Truthfully, she answered, "I don't know."

* * *

Sesshomaru decided to stay with her for a day or so as they figured things out. He stayed in her hut as she took the girls to Sango and Miroku's house for dinner, just as she did every week, once a week. Like clockwork. It was her routine, her comfort zone. Atsuko enjoyed the structure and having something to look forward to as well.

Miroku's three daughters pounced Atsuko as soon as she was within reach of their porch, while his son hung back, waiting. Kagome glanced at Miroku's hand on the boy's shoulder, and smiled, glad that it was able to do so without having the guilt of knowing that his boy would someday carry the curse. Naraku was dead. There was no more curse.

She greeted Miroku with a hug and he kissed her cheek, and then she turned and showed him Rin. His eyes widened, and she promised to explain over dinner.

Sango fixed an extra plate and welcomed Rin with a smile and a warm hug. She remembered the girl's actions towards her brother on their chance meetings. Kohaku was, unfortunately, out on a trading trip with other men from the village. "Kohaku will be excited to see you again," she told Rin. Rin choked on air, surprised that the boy she remembered was still alive at all. Sango laughed and promised to explain later.

It turns out, there was a lot to explain over dinner. The children ate outside with Rin to supervise while the three adults spoke privately about adult things. "You can't trust him, Kagome," Sango said flatly.

Frowning, Kagome asked, "Why not? Everything he's ever done that's remotely hurt me was go after Inuyasha. He's always left me out of it. Looking at it that way, he's really fair..."

She shrugged. "He's a youkai."

"Kirara's a youkai, that means nothing," Miroku pointed out. His wife was startled to find Miroku on Kagome's side of the argument. He said, "It's understandable that he would repent now, after raising Rin. He understands children a little more, and feels responsible for Inuyasha's mistakes, so he wants to fix this one." He looked at the women, expecting them to understand easily.

Angrily, Kagome spat, "Atsuko is not a mistake."

He held his hands up appealingly. "Of course not. I didn't mean that she shouldn't be alive. I simply meant that it was a bad decision on Inuyasha's part." He shrugged his shoulders, hoping that Kagome wasn't going to gut him now.

Sighing, Kagome slumped her shoulders. "Right. Sorry, I've been really tense lately..." she mumbled irritably. "I don't know what it is. Maybe he's nearby." Her lip curled and she stretched her senses to their limits to detect demons. There was Sesshomaru, Atsuko, Kirara, and Shippo, but no other demons for miles. She relaxed and reeled in her senses. "No dice..." she said, her emotions mixed.

Miroku said softly, "Do you miss him?"

She looked up at him, her mouth open with a ready retort when she stopped it. The two people in front of her were her closest friends. She could afford to be upfront with them. She looked at the table and replied, "I miss who he used to be. I miss the idiot that I released from the tree, not the idiot that I gave the jewel to." She folded her arms over her chest. "He's probably dead by now anyways. I shouldn't worry about it anymore." She looked away from her friends.

He reached over and squeezed her shoulder. "I believe that he will come back eventually, Kagome."

Her blue eyes were misted as she told him, "I don't."

* * *

She was carrying Atsuko when she returned. Rin walked in a sleepy, full-bellied daze behind her. Sesshomaru was inside to avoid scaring the villagers. She walked in with a finger on her lips to demand silence as she carried the sleeping child to her room and laid her down on her soft bed. Sesshomaru's glowing golden eyes just followed her movements as she passed him, and he didn't stir at all. She set up a bed for Rin on the floor and the girl fell asleep almost immediately after she laid down on it. Kagome returned to the front room and sat down beside Sesshomaru, mimicking his position.

"Perhaps I could build a proper shrine here," Sesshomaru suggested.

Kagome thought of her shrine back home, five hundred years in the future. She realized that Sesshomaru had no real idea of where she was from. The thought comforted her for some reason. She tilted her head and shrugged her shoulders. She supposed that the shrine would have had to be built sometime...

"I could rebuild that well that you seem to love so much as well," he continued thoughtfully.

Her thoughts raced. Rebuild the well. She had never really thought about it before, but if the well had been closed or destroyed in this time, then it would still carry over to her time. Suddenly, she was on her feet and running towards the well. Sesshomaru followed her slowly, and she stopped short at the ruins of the well. "It's not broken," Kagome said, her voice devoid of any emotion. Sesshomaru's eyebrows crinkled slightly as he realized that she sounded like Kanna and worried if her soul had been stolen in his short absence. She turned and looked back at him. "It's not broken!" she exclaimed excitedly. Sesshomaru tossed his idea out of his head.

He said, "What?" very articulately.

She turned to him and raced her speech, "This is all going to sound weird. I'm from the future. I get there through this well. I thought that it was broken, that I couldn't get through anymore, but I can! I can see Mama and Grandpa and Souta again!" She was about to get to tears as her hands scrabbled at the rocks that had fallen into the well.

Sesshomaru gently nudged her. "Kagome," he said quietly. "There is no power here."

"No, it has to be here," she said stubbornly, clawing at the rocks. If she could just get to her time with Atsuko, everything would be fine. She wouldn't have to worry about Inuyasha showing up anymore, because his demon blood would keep him from going through.

He grabbed her wrist again as she tore a nail from her finger and he ignored the searing pain. "There is nothing here, Kagome. Use your senses." His voice was calm, almost soothing.

Suddenly, Kagome stopped. His hand stopped burning as she focused her power away from it. She felt downward, impossibly downward. She felt none of the power that she should have from the well. She collapsed against the rocks and sobbed. Sesshomaru didn't understand what was so important about getting back to wherever she had come from. This place had become her home, and she should act like it. He frowned as she cried, making the rocks' colors darken as they got wet. He simply sat down beside her to accompany her as she grieved.

As quickly as she had started sobbing, she stopped. She took a few deep breaths and wiped the tears away from her face with a sleeve. She stood up with the aid of the rocks behind her and began to walk back towards the village. Over her shoulder, she called, "A shrine would be wonderful."

Sesshomaru told her, "Grieving is not weakness."

"It doesn't matter anymore," she replied as she walked fearlessly through the dark woods.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five, hot n' fresh! You're welcome.

* * *

Sesshomaru left the next day, but returned in a few days with a building crew. Kagome had to approve the positioning and the design of the shrine, but it didn't take long for all of it to begin. She was literally watching her home be built, and it was an odd feeling. Sesshomaru asked if he could possibly build her a house instead of a hut, and she declined, unless he would be willing to build houses for the entire village. He wasn't, but he had insisted that he at least give her a more comfortable bed than just a pallet. That, she had agreed to.

The bed that arrived filled more than half of her small room. For some reason, she didn't mind. She rearranged her things and was somewhat disappointed to find that the room didn't seem cluttered at all now that things had moved, just less empty. She slept like a rock on the first night that it was there.

The next night, she bid goodnight to the dog demon as he slept like Inuyasha used to, sitting against the wall with his arms folded, his swords resting against his shoulders. Having Sesshomaru in the house seemed to make Kagome less tense as well, feeling as though the protection of her daughter didn't entirely fall to her anymore. It was unnerving, but comforting at the same time. It felt as though he were acting as a father, without all the duties to the mother that it would entail. Not that Kagome hadn't thought about it, but she was very strict with herself about acting on it. After Inuyasha leaves, she goes after his brother? How desperate that would seem.

It would take a while for the shrine to be built, and Kagome had offered to house Sesshomaru until it was done. He had taken her offer, since it kept him in closer proximity of his ward, Rin, who had worried him in the past few weeks with her new, hormonal behaviors. Kagome told him that it was just a teenager being a teenager, and he accepted the excuse. Kagome was always truthful to him, and he found her quite knowledgeable for being one so young.

Rin took care of the laundry, which was a huge load off of Kagome's shoulders, literally. She had more time for herb gathering, gardening, and tending to the village's needs. Plus, it made Rin feel more responsible and industrious, as if she was actually contributing to the household rather than being a burden upon it. Sometimes, Atsuko would come with her, but most of the time, the little girl preferred to follow her uncle around the construction grounds, simply to learn about being a demon. He gave lessons freely and often, so long as she was paying attention to him. Kagome appreciated it, since it wasn't like she could teach her about being a demon.

Today, she had strung a line on the bank to dry the clothes and had the basket on the rock that she usually used. Most of the time, there were several women from the village in the river doing laundry, but today, Rin had waited until the later afternoon and no one was there except for one lonely fisherman that was looking for his family's supper. She didn't recognize him at first, as she cautiously toed her way into the water, up to her thighs. She couldn't swim and she knew that the river would easily drown her with no one around. She was braver when there were more people around.

She drew out the first garment, one of Kagome's priestess robes, and carefully dunked it into the water, digging at it with her fingernails to get all of the stains out and rubbing the herb that Kagome gave to her on a particularly stubborn one. She caught the fisherman's attention, and he squinted at her. He pushed up his woven straw hat to get a better look at her, and exclaimed, "Rin!"

In her surprise, Rin jerked upright. Her footing slipped and she dipped under the water. At first, the fisherman laughed, but then she didn't immediately resurface, except to splash worriedly at the water and slip back under. He cursed under his breath and threw his fishing rod onto the shore with his hat before he jumped into the deeper part of the river. Her hand scrabbled around his calves, and he grabbed at it, hauling her upright with all of his strength. The water made it harder than it should've been, but he managed to pull her against him so that she could use some of his strength and balance as her feet scrambled for purchase on the rocks.

Steadying herself against his chest, she grabbed onto one of his forearms and took great gulps of air. She coughed and expelled mucus from her lungs that the water had shaken free. He held her hair and one arm as she coughed and spluttered and regained her balance. She drew a sleeve across her face and wiped all of the detritus away, and looked up at him. "Thank you," she said seriously. If he hadn't been there, she would probably have drowned by now.

He grinned at her, and she felt her knees weaken. "Don't you recognize me?" he asked, and his voice was achingly familiar to her. Her eyes narrowed and her cheeks flared red as his name came into her mind again. He laughed, and she would have sworn that her heart melted.

"Kohaku!" she exclaimed and threw her arms around him, pressing herself to him excitedly as she would have done if she were ten years old again. He hugged her back with a smile. She pulled back suddenly with a look of dismay. "I've gotten you all wet!" she said apologetically, her hands on his shoulders as she inspected his now damp clothing.

Shrugging nonchalantly, Kohaku signaled that he didn't care and dropped his hands to his sides like a respectable young man. "It's alright, Rin, they would have gotten wet eventually."

Accepting his answer, Rin grinned brightly again. "Sango said that you were around, but I hadn't seen you yet so I was wondering, but here you are!" She spread her hands as if to display him, and then clasped them tightly behind her. Her chest felt impossibly tight and her knees felt like they would give out if the current changed. She realized that they were still standing in thigh-deep water. With an exasperated sound, she grabbed his hand and led them both onto the bank of the river. She sat heavily on the ground. He followed her lead and sat beside her, and they spoke for hours.

Eventually, as they dried, he returned to his fishing and she to her laundry, but they continued to speak. In between their snippets of conversation, there were long, healthy silences in which Rin would cast glances at him and just give a fond smile. They walked back to the village together and promised to do it again the next day. It became a routine that they both would meet at the river. Sometimes Rin wouldn't have any laundry, and sometimes Kohaku wouldn't have any fishing, but they would always sit with one another and talk. Soon, all of the older women in the village that would bear witness to this routine during their times at the river were gossiping about a possible upcoming marriage.

One day, maybe two weeks into the construction of the shrine, Kagome was gathering herbs off of the small porch where they had been drying. Sesshomaru had fallen into a routine with her as well, which mostly consisted of overseeing the construction in the morning with Atsuko and coming back in the afternoons for a meal and listen to Rin's babble and Kagome's light comments. Sesshomaru sat to one side of the porch, leaning against the hut and watching as Atsuko kicked a ball about with some kind of fascination.

Kagome looked up from her work at a familiar laugh and saw Rin and Kohaku walking back from the river together. Normally, Rin came back before Sesshomaru. Kagome had waited with all of the sense of one of her old, air-headed friends from middle school for Sesshomaru to one day witness the interaction between his beloved Rin and the boy that she liked. She glanced at him to see his expression and noted that his eyes had widened slightly. She heard his knuckles pop as Rin laughed again and touched Kohaku's shoulder, and giggled.

* * *

As the shrine slowly grew, Kagome grew more and more fond of Sesshomaru. It really wasn't fair how much he looked like his brother. Often, she would begin to call him Inuyasha, or mistake his flowing silver hair for his brother's, or see his eyes in the dark when she couldn't sleep and startle herself. Each time was a harsh reminder that Inuyasha really was gone, but she never allowed herself to cry for him. She never had, except for on the nights of the new moon when Atsuko became human and looked even _more_ like him. Reminders were everywhere for her, between Atsuko and Sesshomaru.

Fond as she was of Sesshomaru, he made it abundantly clear that the feeling was not mutual. He had told her once that he was there only to restore his family's honor and ensure the welfare of his niece and her mother. Every time that she began to call him Inuyasha, he wouldn't say anything, but he would give her the darkest look that he could muster without moving any of his facial muscles. She would straighten, apologize, and correct herself, and they would move on. She surmised that the only reason she continued living was that Sesshomaru had taken a shine to Atsuko, and killing her mother would not be a good way to earn her respect and trust.

Not that Atsuko didn't respect and trust him enough already. Sesshomaru allowed the girl to follow him around like Rin used to, and Kagome had a sneaking suspicion that he had a penchant for children. It wasn't unlikely, seeing as how he had taken in Rin and taken on the responsibility of Atsuko, both of which he could have just as easily ignored. She wondered if he had ever taken on another child before Rin, but she never found the courage to ask. In fact, few conversations between them were initiated by Kagome, and even fewer lasted beyond a few clipped sentences. He was cordial, only slightly warmer than what she had seen of him before. He ate dinner with them, though Kagome knew it was only to please Rin and Atsuko. He didn't need to eat, and human food usually made his lip curl. It only gave Kagome an extra fervor to improve her cooking, and she found herself picking up flavorful herbs as well as medical ones on her trips into the forest.

During one, she wandered away from the village farther than normal, and strayed past the construction site of the shrine, and further into the forest than she had gone on her own in a very long time. She patted the hilt of her favorite knife that she had slung on her back, just in case. Sango had taught her how to use a knife in favor of a bow years ago, for those close-combat moments. Stopping with her hand on the hilt of the knife, she remembered that it was Inuyasha who had given her this one. She had several now, but she mostly picked them at random when walking out the door of her hut. She had them on a rack on the ceiling that Atsuko couldn't reach, and Miroku often hit his head on it when he came through the door. She imagined that Inuyasha would, if he was still there, and Sesshomaru would, if he wasn't so observant.

For the moment that she was thinking and hurting, Kagome had closed her eyes to ward off tears. She wouldn't allow herself to cry for him, not now, not when things were going so well. She shook herself lightly. A presence suddenly made itself apparent to her, and she jumped. It was close and had undoubtedly watched her moment of weakness. Her heart squeezed as she realized the power of the nearby demon, and she slowly drew her knife. It was circling her, just outside of her line of vision. "Show yourself!" she barked, her voice betraying her feeling of weakness and vulnerability. She sounded strong and confident enough. She just hoped that whoever it was didn't have Sesshomaru's sense of smell. He could smell her emotions and that was the last thing that she wanted her opponent to be able to do.

Suddenly, the demon put itself barely a few feet in front of her and snarled. Kagome recognized him immediately and said, "Sit." The subjugation beads brought Inuyasha to the ground and Kagome pointed her knife at him, stepping out of his reach and told him, "You've gotten better, Inuyasha. Have you learned to control yourself?" She was mocking him, she knew. He deserved it, she rationalized. She ignored the fact that she was somewhat elated to see him. She really doubted that he had been trained to recognize emotional scents, and thus wasn't worried about it. As he growled at her on the ground, she looked at hard at him.

His fire-rat clothing was still intact, though filthy. His hair was matted and dirty, and she could barely see his face under all of the muck on it. She clicked her tongue. "How in the hell did you not run through any rivers? You're disgusting." She nudged his thigh with her hand. He moved, but she spoke faster, "Sit!" His hand hit the ground, his claws snagging against her ankle. She flinched and looked down at the wound, which was shallow but smeared with a green substance that she recognized as inu-youkai poison. "Ass," she murmured, and rummaged quickly through the saddle bag she had at her side for the proper herb to counteract it. Sesshomaru had shown it to her specifically for accidents involving Atsuko, if there would ever be one.

Kagome sat a few feet from him, absentmindedly telling him, "Sit," again. He snarled at her. She added an extra, "Sit," for good measure as she rubbed the herb over the poison. She frowned, and squirmed slightly. It stung. She glanced up at Inuyasha again, and found that he was watching her. "_Why_ did you come back here, Inuyasha?" she asked, swiping the herb over her scratch again. "I don't want you here anymore. The jewel is gone. The well doesn't work. There's _nothing_ for you here."

He closed his eyes. She knew the subjugation spell had to have worn off by now, but he made no move to get up or go toward her. He just laid there on the ground and made no more sound. Kagome tossed the used-up herb to one side and inspected the scratch on her ankle. "Can you even speak anymore, Inuyasha?" she asked, her voice soft, careful.

"My brother is here," he said suddenly. She looked at him again, and his eyes were open, staring at her. They were golden-orange, as if he was hanging on to his mind, but only barely.

Abruptly, Kagome stood up. He stayed where he was, as if his position was submissive and could somehow appease her. She kicked him in the ribs. "Is that really the **only** reason you're here? You're worse than I thought, Inuyasha. Go away!" She moved to kick him again, but he grabbed her ankle and yanked it out from under her. As she fell, Inuyasha was on top of her, crushing her with his weight and strength combined. He allowed her to continue breathing, but his nose was buried in her neck below her ear.

As he snarled, she went still. She closed her eyes and tried to trust that he wouldn't hurt her. She vividly remembered being thrown into a tree near the well, and opened her eyes, looking at the mane of his dirty hair. "His scent is _all over you_," he growled, his voice low and dangerous. He took a deeper whiff and snarled, "And a _half-breed_ girl."

Suddenly he wasn't on top of her anymore, and she could sense him darting towards the village. "**SIT**!" she screamed, and heard him fall to the ground. She hurried after him, going gently on her ankle despite her panicked feelings for Atsuko. Inuyasha had bruised and scratched her ankle, so she was having trouble running. She kept screaming "**SIT**!" to keep him from getting any closer to the village than he already was. She knew that he was close to the construction ground. "Sesshomaru! Don't let Atsuko see him!" she yelled when she saw some of the building materials that were being gathered, and knew that he would hear her. Finally, she found Inuyasha in a clearing of his own making. She said again, "_Sit_," and her voice was seething with anger. He was shoved another inch into the ground, and snarled.

Purposely, she stood on his back and aimed an arrow at the back of his neck. "You **will not** touch my daughter, Inuyasha," she said, her voice dark.

He ripped his head out of the dirt and said viciously, "You fucked him, didn't you? You _whore_, you fucked him!" He thrashed wildly in anger.

"Inuyasha!" she shouted, and made him sit again. He sank into the ground again. "I did _not_ have sex with your brother, you asshole!" She stomped on his shoulder blade. He grunted. "She's yours." He went still. "She's your daughter, and you will not see her. You will not touch her. You are dead to her." Her words were hard, but she had tears in her eyes. One fell onto the red fabric of his haori, and she closed her eyes. "Sit," she said as she let the bow loosen and raised a hand to wipe it away.

Sesshomaru came striding into the clearing. Inuyasha thrashed again, and Kagome kicked him in the head, yelling, "**Sit**!" He stopped moving again, but he was shaking in anger. She looked up at Sesshomaru and said, "Where is she?"

He didn't look at her, but was instead gazing at his brother with something between boredom and contempt. Kagome had gotten better at examining his nonexistent facial expressions, reading the tension in his body and aura instead of relying on his face. "I escorted her to the taijiya," he said tonelessly, and moved forward.

"What are you going to do to him?" she asked, her hand tightening on her bow.

Looking up at her with something like humor in his face, he replied, "No. What are _you_ going to do to him?" He waved a hand at the situation. "I will make it your decision, Kagome."

Inuyasha was grumbling obscenities into the ground. Hearing his voice reminded Kagome to murmur, "Sit." She looked down at him and then shrugged. "I don't know. I _do_ know I don't want him around Atsuko. **At all**." She glared at him.

He inspected his claws and gave a one-shouldered shrug. "There are many methods to produce that result, Kagome. Choose." She knew his ideas, and decided to come up with one of her own. She would _talk_ to him. If she could. Rather, if **he** could.

She glanced down at him again and then rummaged through her saddle bag again. She knelt down to one side of him and told him to "Sit," again, pulling his hands together and tying them with a string of rosary beads she found in the bag. They seemed to burn him when he tried to break them, and so he stopped, settling for snarling at her. She pulled him to his feet, but stayed behind him. "If he hurts me," she told Sesshomaru, trying for an air of uncaring, "kill him."

The words seemed to have a profound effect on Inuyasha's mood. His shoulders hunched dejectedly and he glanced at her over his shoulder. His eyes were pure amber, and sad. She looked at him sympathetically, but didn't say anything. She walked him to a tree and sat him down. She sat beside him and sighed. Sesshomaru stood across the clearing, watching. His face was expressionless, but his aura sang with tension. He wanted to kill his brother. Kagome didn't blame him, this time. She wanted to kill him too at the moment.

Inuyasha was busy trying to maneuver out of his bindings, squirming and twisting. She sighed and picked through her bag again. "Sit," she murmured when he suddenly went still as if sensing an opportunity to get to her. He fell to one side and snarled. She pulled out a sutra and slapped it on the back of his neck. He went very still. Kagome watched him, concerned, and Sesshomaru was just curious to see how he would react. The sutra easily sealed most of his demon instincts and behaviors, and Kagome knew that.

She folded her arms, knowing that he was now rendered helpless. He could probably still do some damage, but his mind was somewhat back to normal. Well, what had been normal for them five years ago. He shook his head and slowly rolled onto his back, his arms beneath him, his eyes closed as he breathed hard. His gaze slid to his brother and he flinched, asking him, "How do you do that?"

"Practice, Inuyasha," he said flatly. "There are things that demons learn when they are still harmless pups that prevent the madness that you have placed yourself in." Noticing that he had gone so far into the encounter without throwing an insult at him yet, he added, "Idiot." Kagome rolled her eyes.

Growling lightly, Inuyasha said quietly, "I guess I should've thought harder about that then." Kagome glanced at him, wondering if she'd kicked his head harder than she had intended. He looked at her and his face softened considerably. He maneuvered himself and sat up, leaning in towards her. She pulled away and stood up. He shot her a hurt look, and glanced at Sesshomaru. "What's going on?" he demanded.

Again, she folded her arms and shook her head. "Inuyasha, I can't keep you sutra'd all the time. What happens when something attacks the village or goes wrong? The sutra can only hold so much youki."

His eyes darkened. "You don't want me to stay," he concluded.

"No," she said, moving towards him and putting her hands on either side of his face. "I want **you** to stay. I just don't want you to be a demon that can't control yourself. You'll put everyone in danger. I'm the miko here, I can't allow it." She shrugged her shoulders and took a step back.

Though she could plainly tell that he was angry, he hung his head in understanding. "Can..." his voice broke, and he cleared his throat before trying again. "Can I at least meet her?" he asked, looking up at Kagome with the most emotional look she had ever seen on him that wasn't angry.

She seemed to think about it. Finally, she sighed. "Fine. But you have to leave after you do. Can you promise me?" She looked hopeful. Atsuko had always wanted to meet her father, but Kagome had never even considered it before. Inuyasha seemed like he was normal enough _now_... how long would that last, though? He nodded his head eagerly, squirming in his bonds again. Kagome turned to Sesshomaru and asked him, "Could you go get her?"

Sesshomaru seemed more frosty than usual as she looked at him. He shook his head. "No. I must speak with my brother." His eyes fixed on Inuyasha, and he gulped audibly. Kagome noted that it was one of the first times that Sesshomaru had acknowledged Inuyasha as his brother in front of other people. She understood though, and left the two alone to go and get Atsuko.


	6. Chapter 6

OMG A new chapter! I was drawing Sesshomaru and got an idea for this chapter, which is what brought it along. Now I actually know what I'm going to do with this one, cos I had no clue earlier. I was just writing.

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Sesshomaru circled Inuyasha's still form. Inuyasha did his best not to show any intimidation, didn't even turn around to watch him as Sesshomaru moved out of the line of his peripheral vision. Sesshomaru growled lightly, frustrated that he didn't seem to be having an effect on the hanyou.

Irritated, Inuyasha finally asked, "What are you doing here, Sesshomaru? Don't you have anything better to do?" He glared at his brother.

"I am fixing your mistakes, Inuyasha," he replied shortly. "I will not have another member of this family tarnish its good name." He made sure Inuyasha heard the inclination of his words – that Inuyasha was but a speck of dirt on his father's golden name.

His eyes narrowed. "So you're going to kill my daughter?" he assumed.

In one quick movement, he was in front of Inuyasha and angry. "I do not kill children. I'm going to raise her like I should have raised you – with honor. Maybe then you wouldn't be such an idiot," he spat. Inuyasha had never seen Sesshomaru so outwardly angry. "Why have you come back?" he demanded.

Inuyasha seemed to think about it. "I... think I sensed you," he said with some difficulty. "I can't remember much." He frowned and looked up at Sesshomaru. "Is there anything you can do?" he asked, and his voice was broken.

With a shrug, Sesshomaru replied, "I could kill you. If you are lucky, you would see her again in your next life. Kagome could keep you on an endless string of sutras, but eventually your youki would become stronger and be able to break them. In the long run, it is not a solution, just a delay."

Golden eyes downcast, Inuyasha said quietly, "Will you take care of her?" They could both sense Kagome coming closer with Atsuko.

He wasn't quite sure who Inuyasha was talking about. He looked up at Kagome and Atsuko, and decided that, regardless of Kagome's lack of blood relation, he would. "Yes," he told Inuyasha. It was the only favor he would ever do for his brother, as he would enjoy killing him. Judging by the smile on Inuyasha's face, he trusted Sesshomaru to do as he said he would. He looked towards Kagome and Atsuko as they came out of the last throng of trees, and his face softened.

The little girl looked anxious, as though she wanted to bolt forward. Kagome had a hold on her hand though, and so she restrained herself. She cast looks up at her mother, pleading to be let go, but mostly stared at Inuyasha in wonder.

Kagome stopped them again and said something quietly to Atsuko, inside her hearing range but just outside Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's. "He is not staying. This is going to be the only time that you see him, ever. Understand?" Though somewhat discouraged, Atsuko nodded her head. Kagome let go of her hand and the little girl ran towards her father. She knelt before him, unsure of exactly what to do. She turned and looked at her mother again, and Kagome made a shooing motion as she walked towards Sesshomaru.

Atsuko smiled toothily at her father and said, "I'm Atsuko."

The reunion was emotional, and Sesshomaru had turned his back on it. He didn't want to feel guilty for killing a father, his brother. Kagome came up to his side without fear and asked quietly, "What are you going to do?" She wasn't stupid. She knew that they had talked about what the possibilities were between them.

Sesshomaru looked down at her and said flatly, "I am going to kill him. It's the only way to prevent future problems." Kagome tried to hide her dismay and looked away, towards her daughter and Inuyasha. "There is no other way, Kagome. This cannot be reversed, and he is a danger to himself and everyone around him. He is too old to learn how to control it. There is no other way." He was trying to convince himself as much as the woman before him. Kagome just nodded sadly, loving how bright and cheerful Atsuko looked as she chatted animatedly to her father.

For an hour, Kagome and Sesshomaru left the father and daughter alone. Atsuko seemed to run out of things to say, and had sat, staring, at Inuyasha for a few minutes. "Atsuko," Kagome called, and waved a hand at her. Atsuko's eyes welled up with tears and Kagome immediately turned away. She wasn't sure she could deny the request. Atsuko knew that gesture, and just turned around to hug her father around the neck. His hands were still bound and he couldn't hug her back, but he dipped his chin over her shoulder tightly, sucking in her scent and reveling in it.

Atsuko pulled back first. Inuyasha told her, "Be good for your mother. Don't forget me." Atsuko nodded and turned away to walk back to the village with her mother. He stared after the two until he heard Sesshomaru move. "Not this close to the village. She'll smell my blood."

Sesshomaru nodded. He watched the two until he couldn't see them through the trees anymore. Trusting himself to be able to control Inuyasha, he unbound his hands and hauled him to his feet. Together, they walked far. "I just wanted to be one thing, not two," Inuyasha said softly.

"You should have wished to be a human," Sesshomaru replied unsympathetically. "You are power-hungry, just like Father." Inuyasha just nodded his head lightly. Sesshomaru cast a glance at him. "Do not worry for them. They will be fine." He wanted to reassure Inuyasha for some reason, and wasn't worried about someone calling him emotional – no one was around and Inuyasha was going to die.

Inuyasha glanced back towards the village. "Make sure she gets Tetsusaiga when she's old enough... And teach her to climb trees." He took a deep, searching breath and then nodded decidedly. "That's where I'll be. The trees." He got to his knees and bowed his head. "Thank you, Sesshomaru."

He hesitated only a moment, searching his mind for any other way. Inuyasha closed his eyes as he heard Tokijin come out of its sheath. It was the last thing that he heard.

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Sesshomaru spent the rest of the day disposing of his brother's body in a way that he would've liked. He burned his body and scattered the ashes in the river. He knew that Inuyasha wouldn't like to become a clay doll like Kikyo. It was nightfall when he returned to the village. Kagome was sitting on the porch with her head in her hands. She jumped when she finally registered the sound of Sesshomaru's footsteps and looked up at him in surprise.

"He's really dead, isn't he?" she said, her voice rough. Sesshomaru only nodded his head. She wouldn't want the details, not so soon. Humans always grieved. "Were you born with those marks?" she asked suddenly.

Surprised, he asked, "What?" for clarification. He really couldn't understand the question, which was rare for him. He'd blame it on her being continuously odd.

She replied, "I need to talk about something else to distract myself, and that was the first thing that came to mind. The marks on your face and wrists – were you born with them?"

He vaguely understood her need to speak about something other than Inuyasha's recent death. He sat beside her on the porch and answered, "No. They are signs of my heritage. I had to earn them." He flourished one wrist and allowed the sleeve to fall back to his elbow, tracing the mark with his claws and remembering how much it had hurt when he received them as a child.

Kagome's fingers joined his and his hand froze. She moved the pads of her fingers over them and her eyes widened. "Tattoos," she said. He just nodded. "Did they hurt?"

"I was a child for these," he said softly. It wasn't admitting pain, but judging by the sympathetic look in her eyes, she assumed it. His pride was safe. Rin hadn't gotten this close to him since she was a child. It was foreign to him to have someone touching him when it wasn't violent.

Her hand moved upward and he restrained himself from rearing back and away from her, knowing that, even if she wanted to, she couldn't hurt him. Her fingers traced the markings along his cheeks lightly, and he suppressed a shiver as he watched the wonder in her face. Her eyes snapped up to his and stared. He held her gaze, mainly because he didn't want to appear weak.

"Your eyes are different," she said suddenly. Her hand was still on his cheek. He raised one eyebrow slightly in question, and she answered without having to be prompted, "than his, I mean... More yellow. Lighter. Different texture..." She leaned forward slightly, and her face was inches from his. It made him nervous, though he would never admit it.

As though she suddenly realized what she was doing, she pulled away and placed her hands in her lap. She didn't look at him, and apologized under her breath. "I don't know what came over me," she whispered.

Sesshomaru found himself missing the warmth of her fingers on his face. He quashed the feeling as suddenly as it had come, and looked away from her sharply. Instead of accepting her apology, he stood in one fluid motion and walked away towards the construction site. Kagome watched him go. He heard her begin to cry as he passed the tree line.

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Dinner at Sango's was uneventful as usual. Kagome sat with the other two adults, and Rin sat on the porch with Kohaku. The children sat to one side of the room. Miroku was the first to bring up Rin and her newfound friend, asking Kagome, "Sesshomaru did bring her here with the intention of marrying her, didn't he?"

Kagome stared at Miroku for a moment, her mouth hanging open over a piece of bread. She closed it promptly and shrugged her shoulders. "That's what he said. I still think he'll be protective... I don't know if he'd approve." She frowned.

"Why wouldn't he?" Sango demanded, offended.

Rolling her eyes, Kagome waved a hand at Sango. "I don't mean that there's anything wrong with Kohaku. It's just that... Well, Miroku, you would be picky about who your daughters marry, wouldn't you?" Miroku just grinned maliciously. He had spoken about his plans for suitors before. She looked back at Sango and smiled ruefully. "I'm sure it'll take a bit of convincing, but you can rest assured I'll be on your side for this. They're cute together."

Sango smiled brilliantly and said, "You'll talk to him then?" eagerly.

She held her hands up. "No," she said firmly. "Kohaku has to speak to Sesshomaru first. I'll just nudge Sesshomaru towards a yes answer once he does. I'm not going to play match-maker here." Sango pouted. Kagome realized that she still hadn't told Sango or Miroku about Inuyasha's visit the other day. She refused to think about it as anything but that. She went quiet, picking at her food.

Miroku and Sango shared a look. They had known Kagome for long enough to know when Kagome was upset. Sango reached across the table and touched her hand. "What's wrong?" she asked softly.

Lifting her eyes to her friends, Kagome realized that, though they didn't understand a lot of things about her anymore, she could talk to them about this. "He came here last week," she said quietly, glancing at Atsuko to make sure she wasn't eavesdropping. Sango's eyes widened. "I let her meet him. Sesshomaru took care of him afterward." She dropped her eyes, not wanting to see their jaws drop.

"He..." Miroku began, but Sango hit his arm and pointed to the children. Understanding, Miroku got Kagome's attention and made an across-the-neck gesture that was usually associated with death. Kagome just nodded. "Why would you let him do that?" he hissed.

Kagome saw Atsuko go very still, one of her ears swiveling towards the adult table. "We can talk about it later," she said quietly. Miroku and Sango accepted the answer, but they didn't like it. The rest of the dinner was full of strained conversation about their youngest child's first words and teaching Atsuko to read and write.

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Sesshomaru appeared to be asleep when Kagome returned. She knew better than to assume that he was, but she tucked Atsuko in anyways. When she was sure the little girl was asleep, she went back to the front room and sat down beside Sesshomaru. He opened his eyes and glanced at her, confirming her suspicions that he often faked sleep.

"Did I do the right thing?" she asked softly.

He snorted. "I am the one who did it," he told her, as if that solved everything. She glared at him until he sighed and reiterated, "Yes, Kagome, you did. If he had been allowed to live, he would have slaughtered without abandon. In fact, I am sure he has been doing that since he left. Everyone is safer this way, including you and your daughter." He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes.

Kagome chewed on her lip, about to ask another question. Sesshomaru reached out and grabbed her by the wrist. He looked sharply at her and told her, "Be silent, girl. Inuyasha was a menace in that form, a disgrace to his former self. He regretted his decision and thanked me for taking his life. Do not question yourself, lest you dishonor his last choice in life." He released her wrist. She stared at him with wide eyes for a minute or two before she stood up and went to bed.


	7. Chapter 7

I take huge liberties with the Japanese wedding ceremony in this chapter, turning it very American. Why? I'm simply too lazy to look it up, and it's late at night. I have work early tomorrow morning. I may someday go back and change it, but right now, it suits the story. I hope I managed to keep Sesshomaru in character, since that's a lot more important...

Also: sorry for such the long wait. I'm going to try to update every few weeks or so, but I have no promises at all. This and my Labyrinth fanfic will update back and forth, so it's Labyrinth's turn next update... Though my muse usually throws away my schedules, so who knows, I could update this one again to catch up. Go figure.

* * *

The next morning, Kagome broached the topic of marriage with Sesshomaru over breakfast, just to get him used to the idea. Cheerfully, she asked him, "What's your take on marriage?" She grinned at him just so, and she heard a small cough, watching his throat work furiously. Though his face remained impassive, she could tell that he had indeed just choked on his breakfast. He stared at her almost incredulously, and she laughed, reiterating, "Not for me, Sesshomaru." She nodded towards Rin, who remained blissfully unaware of the conversation as she immersed her sleepy self in her oatmeal.

"Learn to word yourself better, woman," he complained. "Marriage is a human affair." He returned to his meal, signaling that his piece was finished.

She smiled mischievously and continued, "Fine, what about the demon equivalent? Mating?" She looked up at him expectantly, knowing that his answer would be good.

This time, he chewed and swallowed his bite without choking on it, and told her sharply, "There is no comparison between the two. Mating combines two persons into one, so that they share everything... For life, depending on the breed of demon." He picked up his spoon and frowned, adding as an afterthought, "There is no magic in marriage, only luck." He didn't look at Kagome anymore, and she found herself wondering.

After hesitating several times in caution of her question, she asked him, "Have you ever been mated?" Her voice was quiet and careful, as if very unsure of his response.

He lifted dark eyes to her, and Kagome noted that both Atsuko and Rin were both paying very close attention to the conversation now. "No," he told Kagome, and his voice, for once, didn't hold an air of arrogance to it. "If I had been mated, I would not be here." He would not say any more on the subject. He glanced between the three females and scowled before excusing himself and leaving the hut. Kagome decided that she would delve deeper into the subject later.

* * *

The wedding was in the spring, like all good weddings. Despite her modern way of thinking, where sixteen was way too young to get married, Kagome knew better. In this time, it was common. Sesshomaru, surprisingly, didn't put up much argument against Kohaku. Sango suspected that it was because he was a trained demon exterminator. Kagome knew it was because he had asked her if she thought Kohaku was worthy, believing that she knew the boy better than he ever would.

They sat beside one another at the ceremony, which Miroku was performing. Kagome's eyes teared up as she observed the proceedings, for more reasons than one. Sesshomaru shot her a questioning glance, that she simply answered with, "I always cry at weddings."

"You're lying," he said softly. She just shook her head, they would speak about it later, if Sesshomaru had enough curiosity to continue the conversation. He spared her one look that simply told her that he would indeed want to know later. She frowned. Normally, he was respectful in the sense that if she didn't want to talk about something, he didn't bring it up. Perhaps tonight he was just going to be an ass about it.

For the rest of the ceremony, Kagome sat and brooded over the coming conversation that she was sure she would have to endure. She could picture his disdainful gaze as she tried to make up something plausible about her lie. She could hear his derisive snort and his cold reply, that would force her to tell the truth. She could see him toss his hair like some popular girl in high school that knew they were too good, that they didn't have to listen to this. With a frown, Kagome realized that she and Sesshomaru were the only ones still seated.

Suddenly realizing that the ceremony had ended, and the reception was well under way, Kagome sighed. Her further realization was that Sesshomaru wasn't looking at her, neither was he complaining about their sitting together. _It's the silence_, she decided to herself. _He hates it when I speak_. The self-loathing thoughts that followed made her face sour and she looked down at the grass beneath her feet. She eyed her feet warily, and found that they gave her no solace either. In her teenage years, they had been petite and soft. Now, after she had failed to find a way to make shoes like her time, she made due with sandals, and they were rough and callused...

Like her hands. Her gaze shifted upward, and she turned her palms towards the sky, hatefully gazing upon her weathered hands. Everything she handled nowadays was made of wood, leather, or stone, causing her hands to build thick skin everywhere; the pads of her fingers, the groove between her thumb and forefinger, and the heels of her hands. She closed her eyes and, not for the first time, was glad that she no longer had frequent access to a mirror.

If her feet and hands were this bad, there was no telling what her face looked like. She imagined herself looking like Kaede – wrinkled, weathered, and ruddy. She felt hot tears rise, making her throat thick.

"Why do you lie to this Sesshomaru?"

His demand caught her off-guard. He was usually stoic and silent whenever she cried, as if pretending that it wasn't happening at all. Or ignoring her, which was the more likely option, now that she thought of it. Her tears disappeared in short order, and she cleared her throat to reply, "I didn't..." She knew she was only lying to the both of them now.

Faster than she could follow, Sesshomaru had stood and hauled her to her feet as well. Looking at her with more emotion in his face than she had previously witnessed, he told her, "You will not lie any longer. Do I make myself clear?" His voice left no room for argument. Despite her stubborn nature demanding that she protest and tell him off, she just nodded her head.

"Sesshomaru-sama!" Rin shouted from the reception excitedly. Kagome thanked herself again for giving Rin the idea of the father-daughter dance. Sesshomaru hadn't been able to decline when she, Rin, and Atsuko ganged up on him to demand it, even though he said that he did not dance. She broke his gaze first, and he followed, seeing Rin beaming at them obliviously and holding out one hand towards Sesshomaru in appeal. As if knowing the time had come, Sesshomaru just nodded his head and released Kagome, moving towards Rin with purpose.

The villagers were mostly still afraid of him. They cleared a path for the two onto the makeshift dance floor. Kagome sat back down and watched in awe as Sesshomaru didn't miss a step in the short dance. Of course his dancing would be perfect as well, he was technically nobility. He had to have been to some sort of ball at one point. Kagome scowled and shoved aside her western princess ideals, looking past them and to the villagers. They were slowly smiling and dancing along with them, though none of them were near as graceful as the dog demon and his daughter in the center. Absently, Kagome wondered if Rin appreciated the gesture for what it was – lowering himself to their level.

Atsuko made a beeline into her line of vision. After establishing that nothing was immediately wrong, Kagome listened to her daughter's excited chatter, and agreed that they should dance too. For the rest of the night, Kagome forced herself to dance with her daughter, talk to the villagers, and be happy. She also avoided the taiyoukai.

* * *

The next morning was stifling hot, in accordance with late spring. Kagome found that she had thrown away most of her bedclothes and was lying in just the threadbare pajamas that she had left. She rarely wore them anymore, and found her memories of the previous night too fuzzy to remember why she decided on wearing them last night. Regardless, she rolled out of her bed and changed her clothes. She tip-toed past Sesshomaru, more for her own benefit than his, and sat heavily on the porch.

Though her modest hut had an awning over its porch, it didn't offer much sanctuary from the heat. She didn't know how Sesshomaru was putting up with it inside. She frowned, finding that she felt too lazy to get anything done today. She looked up at the herbs that had dried over the past month or so, knowing that if this heat continued, she would have to jar them early to keep them from losing all of their nutrients. She leaned her head back against the front wall and didn't bother to acknowledge it as Sesshomaru exited the hut and sat beside her.

For a long time, they remained silent. Kagome kept one ear on Atsuko, but was otherwise silent, enjoying the quiet village morning. Suddenly, she told Sesshomaru, "I wish I had coffee in this era." She knew it existed in Europe, but also knew that it was still considerably expensive and hard to obtain. She would have to make do with tea, as she normally did, but always wished for coffee. The smell of it woke her up most mornings that she wasn't in the feudal era, back during the fight against Naraku. She rubbed her eyes and forced the memories from her mind again. She didn't want to dwell on that anymore, nor did she want to think about how much she honestly missed the old Inuyasha. She looked at Sesshomaru, staring intently at his face and waiting for him to look at her.

Sesshomaru was aware that he was being stared at, but was stubbornly refusing to give in and look back at her. He didn't know why. No, he did, he just didn't like it. He liked seeing Kagome angry, he liked seeing her disheveled. He couldn't make her happy without raising all kinds of questions about his sanity, so he settled for irritating her instead – it was better than seeing her saddened, as was a common occurrence.

As it became clear to him that she wasn't going to look away any time soon, he rolled his eyes skyward shortly and turned his head to look at her. He wished he hadn't.

"Am I ugly?" she asked him.

He raised one regal brow by a quarter of an inch, and she suddenly felt stupid. She pursed her lips and looked away. "Never mind. Like you'd ever look at me that way anyhow..." she grumbled. Sesshomaru looked away as well, enjoying his inner commentary that was declaring quite the contrary to her statement. He had looked, thoroughly, not that he would ever admit it out loud... or to himself, really. She continued, "It's just... I'm the oldest one in the village that's not married. I don't even have any suitors... I know I'm a priestess, and I know I've got Atsuko, but I must admit, I miss the attention I got as a teenager... Between Inuyasha, Kouga, and sometimes even Miroku, I never went a day without feeling somehow flattered."

Sesshomaru's inner commentary turned sour as he realized that he had suddenly thought of a thousand ways in which to flatter the priestess beside him. He supposed that proximity had allowed him to become tolerant of her, but he would not allow it further. Sometimes she gazed at him as if she were wishing, but he would not make the same mistakes as his father. He was here for his niece, and that was all. He realized she had continued to speak, and his mind stumbled in efforts to retain his composure and somehow regain what he had lost of the one-sided conversation.

She sat forward and began weaving her fingers through her hair, hacking away at the tangles. "I'm old. Sure, I'm only 24, I've still got a good-sized chunk of life ahead of me, but I'm not married and the horizon is doubtful in that aspect, besides." She was quiet for a few minutes as she combed her fingers through her hair and then carefully braided it. "I'm just afraid of spending my life alone," she whispered at length.

That was something Sesshomaru could empathize with, and he became frightfully aware of how close he was to saying something he may regret. As he carefully decided what words he would allow to fall from his lips, Atsuko let out a sleepy yawn. Footfalls from inside the hut signaled that she was awake. Kagome got to her feet and went back inside to attend to the child. Sesshomaru's words were never allowed to come to the surface, and he reprimanded himself for getting caught up in the human woman.


	8. Chapter 8

Sorry this took so long, but good news! I hammered out an entire plot, so this story WILL be finished! Eventually. :D I'll try to post at least once a week, but I promise nothing. I'm working a lot at one job and looking for a second because one just isn't cutting it.

* * *

Kagome had to stretch onto her tip-toes to reach the laundry line that Sango had hung for her. She frustratedly wished she had thought to use her bow, like in old movies, and just shot the arrow into a nearby tree. She glanced at the taller girl as she easily folded laundry over her line and, not for the first time, wished that Rin still did her laundry. "Sango," she said thoughtfully. Sango looked at her brightly, and Kagome continued, "Am I pretty?" Sango gave an exasperated roll of her eyes in the older-sister fashion, and Kagome shook her head. "Nevermind. Forget that I asked." She absently chided herself for even bothering to ask Sango. She'd have to ask Miroku or Koga, she knew what their answers would be, and it would probably lift her mood. She could really use a visit from the wolf demon and his son. She frowned and thought about writing him a letter.

"Why is he still staying with you, Kagome?" she asked suddenly, straightening and pushing against her aching lower back.

She turned and gave Sango a surprised look, and wiped sweat from her brow. The mid-morning was just as stifling hot as it had been all week, and dry to boot today. "What do you mean?" she asked, wanting to give Sango the benefit of the doubt.

Sango put her hands on her hips. "He's had more than enough time to find another place to sleep, yet he still sleeps in your front room every night," she said accusingly. She paused, and then said, "He does sleep in the front room, right?"

Over the course of a few seconds, Kagome decided a few things. One, she couldn't remember a time when she had been more offended. Two, no, she wouldn't mind if Sesshomaru didn't sleep in the front room. And three, Sango understood her less than she had when Kagome had tried to explain chemistry to her back in high school. A scowl set itself onto her face. "Not that it's any of your business," she said angrily, "but yes, he does sleep in the front room." She turned her back on Sango and marched back to her hut to find something else to do until Sango was done with her laundry. Sango called her name after her, but it was no use. Kagome had lost the last bit of her will to keep Sango as a friend.

She tossed aside the mat into the front room and set about jarring herbs and starting dinner. Her temper flared several times as Sango's words ran through her head repeatedly. She threw herbs into their jars and mashed them harshly when she needed to. She hastily chose the spices to go into the night's stew, and didn't notice that a few sprigs didn't quite make it into the pot. She went into her room to pull out the Tetsusaiga, thinking that maybe some practice with it might get out some of her frustration and anger. The sprigs on the floor caught fire and one danced upward in the rising heat. As Kagome came back into the front room to investigate the burning smell, she realized that the entire front wall of her hut had gone up in flames. She paused in the doorway, and looked at the pot, gaping open-mouthed. She threw herself back into the bedrooms and threw the Tetsusaiga out of the small window. She knew she couldn't fit out of the window, but maybe she could push the wall out. Probably.

Quickly, she removed a few of the more expensive of Atsuko's kimonos, and shoved the remains of her backpack through the tiny opening. She coughed hard, and realized that she should probably try to escape now. She pushed against the wall and, to her dismay, found that it was stronger than she'd thought. Kaede said that her father had built it years ago, and that both she and Kikyo had constantly re-patched it. "Shit!" she said loudly as she realized that the wall was strong. The smoke was building quickly inside the hut, and Kagome coughed so much that she couldn't breathe properly. She pushed as hard as she could against the wall in different places, but failed to produce an opening large enough for herself. "Help!" she yelled towards the window, trying to climb out of it but getting stuck at her shoulders and being forced to pull back in. The flames ate up the outward facing walls of her bedroom and she huddled in the corner, tears in her eyes. "Sesshomaru!" she yelled in panic.

Turning away from the flames, she pushed against the wall again. It still didn't budge. She tried and tried until she lost consciousness.

* * *

Sesshomaru became aware of the scent of fire. He dismissed it at first, mainly because most of the huts in the village had constant cooking fires going. It wasn't until he smelled burning thatch that he became alarmed. He worried momentarily about the state of the huts, but then dismissed the ludicrous idea that it was any of his responsibility. It wasn't until Kagome yelled for him that he went into action. He didn't want to alarm Atsuko, so he told her to go and keep an eye on the construction of the well while he ran an errand. As soon as she turned around, he disappeared into a blur towards the village. The sight of Kagome's hut almost entirely deteriorated into flames almost surprised him enough to stop. He established that Kagome was still inside said hut, and snarled, rushing towards it.

No one saw the look of anger and dismay on his face as he tore down the remains of the back wall, grabbing onto the back of Kagome's kimono and hauling her out of the burning building moments before the flames destroyed where she had been laying. His face was blank as he put her down outside of the way of the heat and smoke, and inspected her. Her clothing was darkened and smudged with soot and smoke, and her face was slack. She wasn't breathing. She smelled of death. Sango and Miroku came running towards him, but stopped as he glanced at them, neither one willing to defy the dog demon by going closer.

* * *

"Ugh," Kagome groaned as she sat up, and became aware that she was a dizzying height off of the ground, the earth moving beneath her feet as she sat on what appeared to be a cloud. Her common sense and numerous physical science classes told her that that was impossible -- clouds were made up of nothing more than water vapor. But there she sat on it, as solid as a pillow-top mattress. Slowly, she brought her breathing under control, and became aware that there were others on the cloud with her. Sitting nearest to one side of her was Kaede, and on the other side was Inuyasha and Kikyo. "Inuyasha?" she murmured. He grunted, but didn't look at her. They were all silent, staring at the ground, and holding small cups of a strongly-scented tea. Kagome realized that she had a cup in her hand too. She tasted it and wrinkled her nose. It was minty, and too sweet. Curiously, Kagome followed their gaze for a moment, but saw nothing but moving earth. Finally, she asked Kaede, "Where am I?"

She received no answer. "Kaede? Am I dead? How come you're watching the ground move, won't you get sick like that? Where's Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha gave an irritated growl from beside her, and shushed her. Kikyo cast her an uncaring glance, and patted Inuyasha's knee, murmuring something about patience.

Kaede turned just her eyes towards the young woman, and told her, "We peaceful dead have very little concern for the worries of the living, or the fretful dead." She smiled meaningfully at Kagome, and then looked back down.

Before Kagome could complain that she didn't understand, Inuyasha shushed them louder and said, "Shut up, this is important." He pointed down off of the cloud, and Kagome realized that the ground had stopped moving and they were now a mere ten feet off of the ground, watching Sesshomaru stand over her dead body that he'd just dragged from her burning hut. Kagome put her hands over her mouth, realizing that she was indeed dead. She pinched herself, and it still hurt. She scowled but resolved to figure that out later, and set her chin in her hand to watch what was important.

* * *

On the ground, Sesshomaru drew a sword. The villagers who had been standing worriedly by suddenly rushed forward. Miroku stopped them with a word, knowing that, regardless of which sword the demon lord had drawn, if the villagers interfered, it would not end well. Sesshomaru didn't even spare the villagers a glance. He gripped it in his hand, testing its weight and staring at the woman's dead body. He squeezed the hilt thoughtfully, watching the imps that were working on her even as he waited. Tenseiga pulsed reassuringly in his hand, and he swung it in a downward stroke. The imps cried out and vaporized.

* * *

Inuyasha threw a fist into the air and laughed. "I knew it!" he crowed. Kikyo rolled her eyes at him. Kagome frowned at their display, about to ask, but realized that Sesshomaru had drawn Tenseiga and revived her. She felt a sharp pain in her chest and cried out, placing a hand over her heart.

Kikyo softly told her, "Don't fight it. It hurts more when you fight it."

She felt like she was falling, and the last thing she heard was Kaede's echoing words, "Trust him, child!"

* * *

She sat up abruptly, and coughed hard. Her chest still hurt, and she put her hand over her heart. She coughed until she couldn't cough anymore, and then looked up at Sesshomaru. He hadn't moved since he swung the Tenseiga. She looked into his eyes and found them more emotional than she had thus far seen them. "Sesshomaru," she murmured, and then bowed her head. "Thank you."

"Hn," he grunted, and sheathed the Tenseiga. "I do not wish to do that again," he told her flatly. Without giving her adequate time to respond, he turned on his heel and moved towards the construction site. Kagome stood on wobbly feet as Miroku rushed forward to aid her. The fire was dying out, but there was nothing that appeared salvageable. She couldn't remove anything today anyways, it would still be too hot. She sighed.

Miroku held onto her forearm tightly, in case she decided to faint and fall again. "Are you alright, Kagome?" She nodded her head. He stared at her ghost-pale complexion and asked quieter, "What did you see?" She looked at Miroku with wide eyes, and he knew. He just smiled at her and nodded his head. "You can stay with us tonight," he reassured her, and patted the back of her hand. He cautiously let go of her and returned to his wife. Kagome stared at the ruins of her hut, and felt badly for Kikyo and her father's ruined toil. She sighed, and ran a hand through her hair. She grimaced as she realized how dirty she was. She looked at the small pile of things she had thrown out of the window. Her backpack was singed, but it was nothing she couldn't fix. Tetsusaiga's sheath was blackened in places, but there was still nothing immediately wrong with it. She looked again at the hut, and shook her head.

Sango approached her cautiously, and said, "I'm sorry, Kagome. I shouldn't have said that." Kagome looked up at Sango and realized that Miroku must have talked to her, because he was standing back and watching them with an admonishing look. Kagome just nodded at Sango and asked to borrow some clean clothes.


	9. Chapter 9

:D I love you guys. I've written up to chapter 12. I don't want to jinx anything, but now that I've got the plot hammered out, the words are coming easily. I'm just procrastinating.

I got a promotion at work, and am now working graveyard (after midnight) shifts, so it cuts a lot into my writing time, but I usually write my best in the early evening. I'm just procrastinating. :D Here's this chapter though, which introduces a new element: Koga!

Also, any romantic things will take a very long time to happen, as I think Sesshomaru really isn't the type to fall in love in a few days. :) We're talking not until Chapter 20 or later. Deal.

* * *

Kagome sighed. "Now what am I gonna do?" she mumbled as she sat on Sango and Miroku's porch. She balefully glanced at what remained of her house. She could probably go rummage through the ashes tomorrow to see what had survived. Maybe her knives, pots, and pans. She frowned as she realized that she had no more clothes, and needed a new bow. A sudden weight dropped onto her shoulders as the shock wore away, and she realized just how much she had lost. All of Atsuko's toys and clothes, the portrait that Shippo had painted of Inuyasha, anything that Kaede had left her, anything from the modern era that hadn't been in her backpack. She sighed and put her head in her hands, desperately trying not to cry. She didn't like crying in front of the village, and if she went inside, Sango would try to console her for things that she didn't understand. She sniffled, and jumped when a large hand touched her shoulder. She jumped and looked up, expecting Miroku, or (though less likely) Sesshomaru.

Koga stared down at her inquisitively. "What happened to your house?" he asked cautiously. Glancing past him, she saw that Koga had brought two of his sons this time. The second had previously been too young to make the journey.

She let out a sob and latched onto him in a tight hug. "Oh, Koga," she whined. "It burned down because I'm an idiot." Koga, surprised, shooed his sons away and shot Miroku a questioning look as he stood in the doorway. Miroku just shrugged his shoulders.

"Don't worry, Kagome," he said softly. "I'll help you rebuild it." He patted her back awkwardly.

As soon as it registered to Kagome that Koga was a mated man and wasn't really in the position to be holding a crying woman, she collected herself and stood back. She inhaled hard and bit her lip. She pushed back the tears for later. Sesshomaru wouldn't say anything, she knew that much. About as soon as she thought of him, he came sweeping into the village with Atsuko trailing him excitedly. "That will be unnecessary, wolf," he said flatly, though Kagome could see through the tension in his shoulders that he wanted to slice Koga open.

Atsuko rushed forward as soon as she saw Koga's sons and attached herself to one of Koga's legs. "Uncle Koga!" she said delightedly. Koga patted her on the head affectionately, but looked at Sesshomaru and growled.

"Koga, don't," Kagome rushed, and moved to stand between the two posturing demons. Miroku rolled his eyes skyward. Would she ever learn that standing between two irritated demons was usually a bad idea? She faced Koga, and put her hands out, knowing that Koga didn't know why the taiyoukai was there. "He's building a shrine here, Koga," she explained. "And helping me with Atsuko." She then turned to Sesshomaru with a more admonishing look, telling him, "And you know he visits."

Though irritated, Koga respected Kagome's opinion. He still growled out, "You let me know if he does anything funny, Kagome. I'll take care of him." Kagome rolled her eyes, significanly reminded of Koga and Inuyasha's fights over her. She half-expected Sesshomaru to start yelling obscenities at the wolf, involving fleas and mange. Instead, Sesshomaru just snorted at him in a kind of 'I'd like to see you try' gesture. Rather than be surprised, Kagome counted herself lucky that Sesshomaru had a significantly large amount of tact. Fighting in the middle of her village, in front of Atsuko, was probably a bad plan. She wasn't looking forward to dinner tonight.

Sesshomaru looked sharply to his left, at Miroku, and held out two rabbits. "For dinner," he said flatly. Miroku came forward cautiously to collect the rabbits, not bothering to ask how the taiyoukai already knew that Sango had started preparing rabbit stew earlier. He knew better than to ask. Kagome watched the gesture and looked quizically at Sesshomaru. He snorted at her and said, "Did you plan on cooking tonight?" as he threw her pile of rubble a disdainful look. She harrumphed at him and snatched the rabbits out of Miroku's hands, swiping the reeds out of the doorway and going inside to help Sango with dinner.

As soon as Kagome was inside, Sesshomaru looked back at Koga. They seemed to have a test of wills for a few moments, the air crackling with their combined powers and making Atsuko whine and not know which male to turn to, afraid of both. Miroku watched with interest. Finally, Koga relented and Sesshomaru turned on his heel back towards the construction site. He barked, "Atsuko," and she jumped, following behind him. She threw a look over her shoulder and waved at Koga cheerfully, but continued merrily on her way.

* * *

For lack of room in Miroku and Sango's house, they ate outside that night. Koga and his boys joined for dinner, though declined any food, saying they had already eaten, which was routine. Koga threw Sesshomaru a smirk as he accepted a bowl of stew with a slight nod at Sango. Miroku, sensing the tension rising between the two demons again, told Sesshomaru, "Thank you for the extra rabbits, Lord Sesshomaru. We wouldn't have had enough without them." Koga huffed, and while the taiyoukai remained stoic, Kagome saw that his shoulders sat just a little straighter, his chest slightly more puffed out with pride.

"Kagome," Sesshomaru said as he set down his empty bowl. "The shrine house is nearly finished. You should stay there." He didn't look at the wolf, but somehow Kagome knew that this was just one more pissing contest between them. They'd been at it all day, fighting silently over Atsuko's attention, the food, who got where first. With her head bowed over her bowl, she rolled her eyes.

Before she could respond, Koga interjected, "Or I could just rebuild your old house, Kagome. Just a little bigger." He looked at her expectantly.

She looked between the two demons, both of whom were staring at her as if they expected something. Kagome wasn't very good with conflicts, they made her nervous and uncomfortable - especially when they were conflicts over her. She began, "Um..."

Miroku offered peace again as he suggested, "Koga, why don't you finish what's left of the shrine house? I'm sure it would go faster if you and your sons helped." Both of the demons looked to Miroku, irritated that he would dare make such a ludicrous suggestion towards compromise.

Kagome brightened. "That's a great idea, Miroku," she said cheerfully, shooting him a thankful smile. The demons grunted in tandem, and the three adult humans looked at them quietly. Kagome giggled, mainly because she knew neither one would kill her for it, and just shook her head. "We can figure all of that out tomorrow. Is it alright if I stay with you tonight, Sango?" she asked hopefully.

Sango couldn't say no. She still felt badly for her transgression that morning. They didn't have many extra blankets, but Atsuko shared a bed with Miroku and Sango's daughters, and they rolled out a mat in the front room for Kagome. Sesshomaru sat in the corner. Koga and his sons had gone home for the night, though he promised to be back the next day with some necessities for her. Sango fidgeted with her sleeve, glancing nervously at Sesshomaru. She kept the Hiraikotsu beside her bed, but didn't feel safe out in the front room without it. "I'm sorry we don't have much for you, Kagome," she began.

"This is more than enough," Kagome replied, and smiled at Sango, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. She was still angry with Sango for her thoughts. Sango glanced at Sesshomaru again, and Kagome sighed. "He's not going to eat your children in the middle of the night, Sango. Go to bed." She stared at Sango for a moment as she gaped, unsure of what to retort with. Kagome raised her eyebrows and Sango huffed, turning back towards her bedroom. As Kagome heard the reeds drop back to their proper places, she sighed and placed her head in her hands.

Sesshomaru watched her with interest. You couldn't tell by looking at him, because only his eyes were on her. Nothing else was pointed even remotely in her direction. His hand was folded into the opposite sleeve and his swords rested against his left shoulder. They clinked softly as he subtly shifted his weight. Kagome didn't notice. She took deep breaths, exhaling slowly in some form of control, and lay down on the mat. There was no pillow. There was no cushion. There was a thin blanket, and the mat. She sighed and closed her eyes, trying to get comfortable, or trick her body into thinking it was comfortable, just for the time it took her to fall asleep. It didn't work.

She tossed and turned for an hour or so before Sesshomaru gave an irritated grunt and got up. Kagome jumped as he crouched down on the edge of her mat, hauling her up by one shoulder and sat against the wall beside her, stretching his legs out and forcefully laying her back down in a position to use his thigh and pelt as a pillow. He placed his swords along his thigh on his other side. She was stiff and unsure, and looked up at him. He looked down at her sharply and said, "No one in the entire house can sleep with you tossing like that. Sleep." He folded his hand back into his sleeve and rested his head against the wall, closing his eyes.

It took some time for Kagome to relax enough to cuddle Sesshomaru's thigh like a pillow, but once she did, she realized that he really was quite warm and, for being so muscular, his thigh was actually quite a comfortable pillow. The pelt was soft and the long hair made an excellent extra blanket over her shoulders. She threaded her fingers into it like a teddy bear and imagined it was his hair instead. In another ten minutes, she was fast asleep.

* * *

The next morning, Kagome woke up with her head propped up with a pillow that smelled like Miroku. She wrinkled her nose and sat up quickly. Sango was the only one in the house, cooking in the next room as quietly as she could. Kagome rubbed her eyes and got up, asking Sango, "How long did I sleep?"

"It's nearly noon," Sango replied stiffly.

Kagome narrowed her eyes at her, but shrugged it off and left the hut. She nearly ran smack into Koga as she stepped around the hut, and he was toting a basket. He froze and grinned at her. "What have you got in there?" she asked cautiously.

He set the basket down and it sounded heavy. He looked up at her and smiled. "The pack felt badly for you," he explained, and lifted the lid. It was filled to the brim with fur blankets, clothes in about Kagome's size, a new knife, jars of healing herbs, and a new bow and leather quiver, among other small items. Kagome put her hands over her mouth. "Everyone pitched in when I told them what happened," he said softly. Kagome's eyes hazed over, and she looked past him at Hakkaku, who was toting a similarly-sized basket, and Koga's oldest son, who had a smaller one.

She looked up at him and didn't have words. He smiled wider. "Don't thank me, Kagome. Just come visit sometime, they'll appreciate it," he murmured to her. "Where do you want it all?"

"Um," she began, and turned to look at Sango's hut. She did not feel welcome there and didn't want any new belongings of hers to go inside. She frowned. "To the shrine house, I guess," she said slowly. Koga nodded, and she led the way. She guessed that Sesshomaru had taken Atsuko to the construction site before she could wake Kagome up. She was thankful for that in more ways than she could mention, and as they approached the site, Kagome's jaw dropped. She hadn't been by in nearly a week, and things appeared to be wrapping up. The well house was done, the shrine house was almost done, and the other few buildings were already framed and being walled. She didn't have to be told where the shrine house was, but she pointed it out to Koga, and then went to find Sesshomaru.

Hearing Atsuko first, Kagome headed in that direction. She took her time, admiring the craftsmanship of the workers, running her fingertips over fresh wood that would still be standing in her time, roughly five hundred years later. She found Sesshomaru kneeling on the ground, explaining a small bit of math to Atsuko, something to do with adding. He was actually drawing in the dirt with a claw for the child's benefit, and sounded more patient than Kagome had ever heard him. She wondered if he knew she was there, before dismissing the thought that she, her loud human self, could have possibly escaped the taiyoukai's notice, even from behind and downwind.

"See?" he encouraged Atsuko. "The two planks of wood are of equal length to the longer one. This way, we can put both of them together and make two long planks." He looked expectantly at the child. Atsuko looked thoughtful, and then nodded eagerly. And then, Kagome saw something she thought she would never see - Sesshomaru smiled. It wasn't big or even very obvious. It was just a slight up-tilt of the corner of his mouth and a slight warming of his eyes, but it was a clear smile to Kagome, who had trained herself to watch his aura and body langauge. Kagome wondered if Atsuko had any idea how much Sesshomaru was doing for her. Sesshomaru stood, and turned to Kagome with a bored look.

She smiled brilliantly at him as Atsuko noticed her and then ran to hug her around the thighs. "The shrine looks wonderful," she told him brightly. "Thank you so much for all of this."

Sesshomaru was unsure of how to respond at first, but then he just nodded. "It should be done within the month. I've already ordered furnishings." He turned away and headed for another part of the construction site. Atsuko gave her mother another squeeze and babbled something about breakfast and Uncle Sesshomaru before running after him. Kagome ran a hand back through her hair with a wistful smile on her face.


	10. Chapter 10

So wow. :P Ridiculous response, you guys. I'm loving all the reviews. ^^ I read and appreciate each one, even if I don't reply, I promise. New chapter yay!

* * *

Sometime that afternoon, Kagome had bathed and dressed in the new clothes that Koga had brought her. Rin even tried to give her one of her kimonos, but Kagome staunchly refused. She did accept the dinner invitation though for later that week. She was busy unpacking what the wolf tribe had given her, oohing and awwing over everything. She was ecstatic that anyone thought that highly of her, even after it had been nearly four years since she'd ever seen anyone besides just Koga or his sons. Koga told her that they still thought of her like a pack sister, and she smiled happily about it. She had the house to herself, and the sounds of construction in the back didn't bother her. She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep that night unless Sesshomaru was in the house though. Who knew what kind of forest animals might come in?

She carefully made up a bed out of the furs and blankets, just big enough for her and Atsuko. She might just have Atsuko sleep at Sango's again that night, just until the construction was done. It was probably going to be rather drafty and Kagome didn't want the girl to get sick. She folded the clothes into one neat pile and left them inside one basket, and tried out the bow. It was immaculately made. She would have to ask Koga who had made it and give them a special thanks. She left all of Atsuko's new things, as well as what was left, in the other basket, and anything else wound up in the last basket. There was a length of rope, empty jars, jars of healing herbs, small portions of fruit and vegetables, and a few letters of condolences. She sat down on the makeshift bed to read the letters and jumped as she noticed that Hakkaku was standing in the opening nearest the back of the house, staring at her.

Laughing nervously, she said, "You scared me."

He smiled and apologized quietly, and then told her, "Y'know, you must get lonely sometimes, with just the villagers." His tail twitched and he fidgeted slightly with his wrist bracers.

Kagome immediately went on guard, and fought a blush. "I've got Atsuko, and friends," she said, trying not to sound defensive. She knew what he was getting at, but she didn't need him to know that. She did not want to have wolf guts on the inside of her new house, which was what would happen if he attacked her. She didn't know why she believed that, but she believed in it full-heartedly. She could picture the blood now.

"Well, yeah," he said, and shrugged his shoulders. He tried to look manly and sexy. She could tell by his posture and stance towards her, and the heat in his eyes. Her eyes narrowed as he continued, "but you're not screwing any of your friends, eh? Come on, Kagome, you've gotta be dying for it by now." He took a step forward, and she held up a hand in warning.

She scowled thunderously at him. "I wouldn't come any closer, Hakkaku. I'm not afraid to use my power, and I actually know how now. Besides, I tell Koga and your hide is tanned," she threatened. The look on his face darkened in offense. "Or I could tell Sesshomaru. He wouldn't be so nice." She dared him to come closer, almost wanting to shout for Koga, who was simply closer than Sesshomaru at the moment, otherwise she'd shout for him.

Hakkaku snorted at her and turned his back to her. Kagome watched him walk back to the back of the house, and shuddered. Sesshomaru came around the corner, his face blank. She looked up at him brightly from her sprawled spot on the floor. "Did you hear all that then?" she asked. He grunted. "Don't hurt him. He didn't touch me." She looked down at the letters. "I'll just tell Koga to bring Ginta next time instead," she said airily as she began to read the letter.

Sesshomaru's lip curled. "Disrespectful hound," he growled. Kagome just smiled at him and shrugged. She should've really been used to it in her time. She just hadn't been there in half a decade. She frowned, but shook her head and pushed the thoughts away. The less she thought about home, the less she missed it. Sesshomaru swept out of the room.

* * *

"Lord Sesshomaru!" an annoyingly grating voice crowed from the forest. "Lord Sesshomaru!" Sesshomaru sighed from across the room as Kagome groaned on the makeshift bed. Atsuko was sleeping at Sango's still. "Lord Sesshomaru!" Kagome rolled over and tried to pull the blankets up, but there weren't really many to pull up. She sighed and opened her eyes, looking across to Sesshomaru. He appeared to be trying to disappear against the wall. She grunted at him, too early for sleep. He looked at her and rolled his eyes, getting to his feet and finding Jaken running about the construction site, never thinking to look inside.

He came back in a few minutes later and told her, "I must leave."

On some conscious level, Kagome felt flattered that he actually told her before just leaving. She sat up and looked at him sleepily. "When are you coming back?" she asked. Jaken started to mumble something irritable and anti-human, but Sesshomaru kicked him before Kagome could decipher what he was saying.

Sesshomaru answered tiredly. Kagome could read from his posture that he didn't actually want to go anywhere. "A few weeks. Perhaps more. Political problems," he said shortly. "Jaken, I'm leaving you in charge of the construction while I'm gone. Furnishings have been ordered, Kagome will be placing them all, and she can tell you no. Have I made myself clear?" Sesshomaru knew from experience that you had to be sure with Jaken. Sometimes he would gripe and complain, other times he would take his duty seriously.

Jaken looked aghast. "You're going to leave me with the human filth?" he whined. Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed. Jaken bowed at the waist and he agreed immediately, not wanting to further invoke the wrath of his Lord.

Kagome frowned. "Can it wait until Atsuko gets up? She'll want to say goodbye to you." She rubbed her eyes in an effort to wake up more than she already was, and she shook her head. Sesshomaru grunted, and Kagome couldn't tell if that was a positive or a negative before he left the house.

* * *

Atsuko trudged into the house, followed by a yapping Jaken. Kagome had just finished changing and was about to go and greet Koga and the others that she was sure he was bringing back today, and to tell him about Hakkaku since she hadn't gotten the chance the day before. She looked over her shoulder as she folded her clothes into a pile beside the basket, the dirty pile. Atsuko stopped in her tracks, Jaken nearly running into her back, and pointed at him, declaring loudly, "I don't like him! I want Uncle Sesshomaru to come back now!"

Her eyes narrowed. "You didn't get much sleep last night, did you?" she asked suspiciously. Perhaps having her sleep over at Sango's was a bad idea. The girls tended to chatter late into the night. Atsuko just glared at her. Kagome sighed, and looked past her, at Jaken. "Jaken, leave Atsuko alone. She's not like Rin," she said authoritatively. She knew that Sesshomaru had given her some power over Jaken.

Jaken huffed. "At least Rin didn't complain so much!" he griped, and folded his arms.

"Don't you have some construction to be overseeing?" she snapped. He jumped to attention and left the house swiftly. Kagome groused under her breath, and looked at Atsuko. She looked upset, her little arms folded over her chest and the most adorable scowl planted on her face. Kagome smiled at her and asked, "You miss your uncle, don't you?" she asked.

The little girl tried not to, but wound up wailing. Kagome gathered her up into her arms and rocked her, telling her that he'd be back soon. "Shh... Don't you want him to be proud of your behavior while he was gone?" she asked. Kagome wasn't used to being able to pull this kind of card. Usually it was a 'don't you want Daddy to think you've done well?' card, but Atsuko didn't have a daddy. While she stopped to ponder that, Atsuko was wondering about her statement. She abruptly stopped crying and inhaled shakily, as deep as she could, her chest puffing out with the effort.

Slowly, she nodded. Kagome smiled brightly. "There, now, that's better. Go and see if you can help Rin with some chores today. I've got a lot to do for the new house, okay?" she said softly, and nudged the girl off towards the village. It wasn't far enough to be dangerous. She heard some shouts from the edge of the construction site, and took a guess. She followed the sounds of argument until she found Jaken trying to ward off six demons from the wolf tribe, and Koga. She rolled her eyes and yelled, "Jaken! They're here to hustle on finishing the house!" Jaken jumped when he heard her, and scowled thunderously in her direction. She put her hands on her hips and put on her most threatening, motherly face.

Ginta ran into her full-force and hugged her so hard that she was lifted on the ground. "Sister!" he said happily, and set her back down to look at her. "You look beautiful! How are you?" He rushed into a long list of other questions, and Kagome had a hard time keeping up.

Koga eventually pulled him away and told him to shut up, smiling at Kagome. "We should have the house finished by tonight, Kagome. And Kai is going to build you and Atsuko beds too." he said, jabbing a thumb at one of the demons behind him who had a bowl-cut and a bald spot.

She smiled brightly, and hugged him. "Thank you again for all of this, Koga," she said cheerfully. She was blatantly ignoring the feeling that she was missing something. She turned to Jaken and glared at him. "Koga's in charge of the house. You get the rest of the site. Got it?" Jaken mumbled something about filthy humans, and Koga kicked him before Kagome could. Kagome giggled and Jaken stayed out of Koga's way for the rest of the day, but made a note to tell his Lord that the wolf was an asshole.

* * *

For the rest of that day, Kagome was cheerful and happy. She did some laundry, gathered some herbs, and looked into what monetary supplies she had kept in her backpack. She wanted to get some fabric and make some blankets, but doubted that she'd be able to get any for a few weeks at least. She'd have to travel to a bigger city to get to the market, anyhow. Koga left after sundown, and, as he said, the house was completely finished. It could use some paint, but Kagome was going to wait on it. It was only one story, contrary to the two-story house in her time, but she didn't need anything bigger than that. According to Jaken, the furnishings were going to start arriving the next week, so she was to make due until then.

Jaken refused to stay in the house like Sesshomaru had done, and it was frightfully empty that night. The doors didn't lock, and, aside from the construction workers' camp just outside the site, Kagome was alone. She hoped that Sesshomaru would've chosen workers that would protect her if needs be too, but also wouldn't doubt that most demons would have no problem watching her get eaten by a bear. It was those thoughts that had Kagome sleeping with her new bow, arrows, and a knife beside the the bed. She had Atsuko still sleeping in the same room as her for the time being too, though she had her own room. In fact, there were four other rooms too that she wasn't entirely sure what to do with. They were a dining room, office, her grandfather's bedroom, and the guest bedroom in her time, but none of those things really counted yet. She guessed she'd make them into guest rooms. As a priestess, she was supposed to care for travelers and the wounded every now and then, right?

The next day, she felt worse. Koga wasn't there to cheer her up, and Atsuko had gone off with Rin again. With so few belongings, there really was nothing for her to tidy up, and there was no laundry to do. She frowned and decided that today she'd go rummage through the ashes of her ruined hut. She approached it logically, resolving to dig where there was most likely going to be the remains of something. She was sure that a few things in the front room kitchen area would still be fine - like her stew cauldron and pots. What else would she find in the ashes though? She frowned as she stood in front of the pile, and put her hands on her hips, wondering. She'd really need a bath after this. She sighed, and set to work.

* * *

D: Sesshomaru is gone! OH NOES, HOW WILL THEY ROMANCE NAO? Don't forget, dear readers, that absence makes the heart grow fonder...


	11. Chapter 11

Well, now. Reviews are booming as usual, though the biggest spike is directly after I post a chapter. Saturday night should yield some good results. :) Night shift is kicking my ass, guys, especially because I do my best writing at night, and while working nights, I can't really write. Still, I'm trying. I've been focusing a lot on my novel (I'm sorry!) and it's coming along nicely. I'll let you guys know if it ever gets published (don't hold your breath).

* * *

As expected, Kagome retrieved her cauldron and a few other kitchen utensils that she hadn't been worried about losing. Some of the villagers had cast her glances, but recently, they'd left her alone. Mainly since Sesshomaru arrived. Kagome frowned and resolved to figure that out later. She shook her head and moved around ashes with a pole she'd found until she felt someting remotely solid, and then investigated with her hands cautiously. She didn't need to get a cut, she had run out of antiseptic last year. Usually it wound up being a beam, though she did find that her knives had all survived. They were in various stages of disrepair, but nothing a blacksmith couldn't easily polish out. She might even be able to get some of it out herself. She tried rubbing out a spot on her kimono, but failed horribly, mainly because she'd gotten ash all over it. She frowned. She really would have to do laundry today. She found the Shikon jewel, which was good. Its power was so subdued now that it no longer attracted demons, but she still liked to have it around.

She did a sweep of Atsuko's bedroom, and then hers, and felt something snag. She paused and frowned, carefully pushing ashes out of the way until she found what had snagged. It looked like it had been wrapped carefully, and as she pulled it out, she realized what it was. She stared at it, feeling a sharp tug at her heartstrings. She slowly pulled it out of the ashes, though she knew she probably couldn't tear it, even if she tried. She laid it on top of the pile of ashes, and smoothed a hand over it. The ashes added a harsh quality to the fabric that she hadn't previously felt. She was used to it being soft and worn-in. She looked at the tear on the shoulder and blinked slowly, remembering. She swallowed the lump in her throat and removed the two pieces of clothing, knowing that there was no way she could catch some of his earthy scent on them. She folded them methodically and set them to one side.

Kagome laid her hands on her thighs and took a deep breath before she got up, taking Inuyasha's fire-rat clothes with her. She didn't know how they had made it into her room, but was willing to bet it had something to do with Sesshomaru. She didn't really care. She collected the small bit of laundry that she had, which really only consisted of the clothes she'd worn yesterday, and Atsuko's ashy kimonos. She picked out another set of clothes for herself, packing it all into her backpack carefully with her towel, and set out for the hot spring. It was a long walk, but she brought a knife and her new bow with her. She didn't normally go alone, taking Atsuko, Rin, or Sango. She wanted to be alone today.

* * *

She returned before dinner, clean and washed. She collected the few things that she'd salvaged from the ashes and took them back to the house. She folded up Inuyasha's fire-rat clothes into a small bundle and put them at the bottom of one of the baskets, covering it with everything else. Atsuko would get them when she was older, but until then, Kagome didn't want to see them. She found herself wishing for Sesshomaru. He'd be able to give her some scathing comment that would have her blood boiling in short order, and she'd forget all about that morning, and about Inuyasha. It was easy not to think about him when Sesshomaru was around, because his presence was very commanding. You couldn't think about much else when Sesshomaru addressed you directly. Kagome paused and wondered if that was just her. She frowned and shook her head.

Taking the other few things that she'd found to the river, she rinsed the ashes out of them and cleaned them carefully before returning to the house. She went back to the river once to haul in some water, and began to prepare dinner.

* * *

Sesshomaru was irritated. He was usually in a state of constant control, so much so that he never bothered to feel irritated because he didn't want to. He would occasionally roll his eyes, snort, and throw a scathing comment at his staff, but none of them puckered and snapped back at him like a certain woman he had become accustomed to. He scowled as he realized that Kagome was the root of his irritation. He was used to seeing her at least twice a day for prolonged periods of time, and she would get angry with him one way or another. He hadn't seen her in nearly a week now. The wolf would have finished her house by now, and she was sleeping away from the village alone in the house with Atsuko. He doubted she would've invited Jaken in, not that he would've been much help.

He started as he discovered that he'd been staring at the same document for fifteen minutes now, his eyes glazed and unseeing. He scowled and put the parchment aside, putting an elbow on the desk and looking around the room to see if he could find some other source of his irritation. Surely the fact that he hadn't seen one human woman in a week couldn't be it. He growled, and heard his guard shift outside his door. He rolled his eyes and picked up the parchment again, shoving aside all of his irritation and focusing on the paper. It didn't work very well.

Some word on the parchment reminded him of Atsuko, as he had explained its meaning to her a few weeks ago. He stopped reading the document again and thought about what she would be doing at the moment. Without him to follow around the construction site, what else would she do? Was she following Jaken? He shook his head at that. Jaken could never stand Rin, and only did so because he ordered it. Sesshomaru had left no similar orders for Atsuko. Surely Kagome would be keeping her busy with something. Maybe she was with Rin, or Sango. His lip curled at the thought of the demon slayer. She had upset Kagome, and Sesshomaru knew it. The way Kagome tensed every time she was around, glared subtly at her, and became irritated at the mention of her.

"Why do I know that?" he snapped at himself shortly. Did he watch the priestess so closely? He cursed under his breath and rubbed the bridge of his nose, setting the document aside. He went for a walk to clear his head, dismissing his guard. He didn't leave the castle grounds, instead inspecting them for any disrepair that had gone on in his absence. He found none, and returned to his office an hour or so later, more irritated. His walk had been silent. With Atsuko following on his heels so often, he wasn't used to silence at all.

He decided that he wouldn't go back until he was sure that he had properly distanced himself from the priestess. He couldn't have himself following in his father's footsteps. What would the other Lords say?

* * *

Atsuko pushed her vegetables around like usual, but had eaten her meat with decidedly less relish than she normally did. She looked like she might be getting sick, but Kagome knew better. She was upset. "When's Uncle Sesshomaru coming back?" she complained again. Kagome rolled her eyes and decided not to answer, mainly because she didn't know. Atsuko looked up at her and stared until she felt uncomfortable.

Finally, she sighed. "I don't know, Atsuko. He didn't say," she replied in exasperation. "It shouldn't be too long." Atsuko stabbed one of the vegetables angrily and settled further into her angry and upset stance. She frowned and offered, "Maybe we could go and visit Uncle Koga at the caves." Kagome had never taken Atsuko on that long of a journey, mainly because she was too young. It was getting warmer, and would be good weather for travel. She thought about it and weighed her options, deciding that it would be a good idea. Atsuko didn't brighten as Kagome had expected though.

"Can we go visit Uncle Sesshomaru?" she asked hopefully. Kagome realized that she didn't actually know where his castle was. She could probably find her way there if she set out in the right direction and got herself in the area, but the last time she had gone, it had been on Inuyasha's back. She shook her head and Atsuko slumped further, her face falling further into a scowl.

Kagome gave up, and put Atsuko to bed early just so she wouldn't have to deal with the five-year-old's irritability. She hoped it was growing pains on top of missing Sesshomaru. She wasn't sure if Sesshomaru was going to stick around after the construction was finished and really didnt want Atsuko getting too attached. Kaede's words made her rethink that though. Kaede told her to trust him, him obviously being Sesshomaru. She frowned and thoughtfully paused in her sewing. Trust him to what, exactly, was the question.

* * *

Miroku came by the next morning. He marveled over the craftsmanship of the house, and fawned over Kagome's new bow when she showed it to him. "Would you like some breakfast, Miroku?" she offered.

As if suddenly remembering something, Miroku replied, "Afraid I can't, Kagome. Sango already filled me up this morning. The reason I came by is that the villagers and I had put together a little something for you." He rummaged through a sleeve until he found what he was looking for, and removed a small sack of coins. "It's not much, but it's what we could spare."

Kagome's eyes widened. The villagers had avoided her for months now, and Kagome was touched that they would bother to give her money. She was a priestess after all, she was used to small donations of extra food from crops and gardens, and making due with what she could find herself. "Thank you so much, Miroku," she murmured, accepting the pouch and thinking of all of the things that she would need, even after the promised furnishings arrived. Jaken said it would be soon, but she didn't care much for the toad and didn't care enough to find out if he was right.

He smiled. "I thought you'd appreciate it," he said softly. He ran his hand back through his hair, now a considerably long ponytail, and looked back at Kagome. "I also wanted to apologize for Sango's behavior," he told her, trying to sound strong. "She really shouldn't have said that to you, Kagome, let alone think it about you." He looked sorry as he could be for his wife's behavior.

Shaking her head, Kagome told him, "Don't worry about it." She felt the sack thoughtfully and said, "Sango and I have drifted apart a lot in the past few years. I guess that just cinched it." She shrugged her shoulders. Sango had never fully understood the girl from the future, but knowing that she really had no idea what she was going through was hard. Miroku nodded his head. "Don't be sad for it, Miroku. At least you understand, right?" She beamed at him.

"I like to think I do," he replied hopefully, and shrugged. "I'm not jumping to any conclusions with you, Kagome. I never do anymore." He looked away, around the house, and then back to her. "Still, I have to wonder if Sesshomaru is really doing all of this just to redeem his mistakes." He gestured at the house.

She knew what he meant. She sighed. "I know. It seems weird to me too." She wasn't about to tell Miroku that she sometimes thought of Sesshomaru as a stand-in husband for her, or that she had found Inuyasha's fire-rat clothing in the ashes of her hut, as though Sesshomaru had placed them there for her. Perhaps the demon was more thoughtful than she gave him credit for. It didn't mean she wanted Miroku to know. Smiling at him, she thanked him again and he insisted that he had somewhere to be, and Kagome said that she had things to do. Both busy adults, they went their separate ways.


End file.
